Caroline and Maryetta

Last week I was able to find death certificates for both Caroline and Mary. In a previous blog post I mentioned that I wasn't sure which father Mary belonged to, August Requadt or Charles Myerhoff. Even though Irma Cimmerer Hubbell, Maryetta's only daughter, didn't give much detailed information on her death certificate[1], the information she did provide leads me to conclude that Mary or Maryetta was the daughter of August Requadt and Margaret Dibble. Findagrave was consulted to confirm this information, as the death certificate states Maryetta was buried in the Roselawn Memorial Gardens in Saginaw, Michigan. Unfortunately, only 31% of the cemetery has been photographed and Maryetta was not listed. A photograph request was submitted, but there are currently 277 photo requests for this cemetery and I am not optimistic about my chances of having a photo of the headstone anytime soon. 

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Maryetta Cimmerer 1935 Michigan Death Certificate

I am sure that Maryetta is our Mary because of her marriage record[2]. Even though she was incorrectly indexed as Regnadt; her birthplace (Detroit), birth year (cal. 1865) and place of marriage (Flint) along with the information on her death certificate coupled with the 1880 census (mentioned previously) lead me to believe that I have the correct Mary.  However, Mary's marriage record gives some  new information. The officiant of her marriage is HS White, the minister of M.E. Church in Flint, Genesee, Michigan. After a little digging, I found a HS White as pastor of the Garland Street Methodist Episcopal Church in Flint. An interesting letter Pastor White wrote about another parishioner can be viewed here. I am still trying to determine if documents exist from the Garland Street Church that would give more detailed information about the family. 

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John A. Cimmerer & Mary E. Requadt 1886 Michigan Marriage Record

Although I already know that Caroline is a Requadt, I went searching for her death certificate[3] to see if I could glean any new information.  Unfortunately, her son Roy provided very little information. He states that he didn't know the names and birthplaces of his grandparents and the birthplace of his mother which I find a little sad. 

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Caroline Amelia Corrigan 1932 Illinois Death Certificate

However, I was able to look up the address on the death certificate on Google Maps. It's gratifying to know Caroline spent her last days in this beautiful house. I also attempted to look up the address on Maryetta's death certificate (635 South Warren Street, Saginaw, Michigan), but unfortunately the house has been demolished and only an empty lot remains.

257 South Street, Elmhurst, Du Page, Illinois.

[1] Family History Library US/Canada microfilm No. 001973085. Michigan, death certificates, 1921-1952

[2] "Michigan, Marriages, 1868-1925," index and images, John A. Cimmerer and Mary E. Regnadt, 19 Aug 1886; citing Flint, Genesee, Michigan, v 1 p 245 rn 6498, Department of Vital Records, Lansing; FHL microfilm 2,342,478. , FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/NQ7R-CH7 : accessed 18 November 2014)

[3] Family History Library US/Canada microfilm No. 1,684,273. Death Certificates for the State of Illinois, 1916-1945

Uh Oh... Birth before Marriage.

In my excitement to find August and Margaret in the same household, I went searching right away in the 1850 US Census. Unfortunately, I did not find them and I may have found out why. According to John's headstone he was born on 9 May 1853[1]. Click here to view headstone.

 And according to Cuyahoga County marriage records Augustus Reynaudt and Margaret Dible were married on 23 November 1854[2]. A full 18 months after John’s birth. No wonder I couldn't find them as a married couple in 1850!

Cuyahoga County Marriage Applications 1854-1855

Cuyahoga County Marriage Records 1789-1997

Despite the fact that I know the marriage date for August and Margaret I really couldn't glean any other information from either of these records. I attempted to look for the officiants name (S. McAdams) in the Cleveland Pastors and their Churches website hoping my search would connect me to a German Lutheran or Catholic church in Cuyahoga county. But unfortunately, he couldn't be found. Probably because there are more than 30 churches that served the German populace in the city of Cleveland alone. The name of the deputy clerk on the marriage application wouldn't be helpful because they would have been a government representative rather than a clergyman associated with a specific church with searchable records.  It looks like this line of inquiry is at a dead end for now.

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[1] Findagrave Memorial for John A. Requadt, Memorial No. 71050001. Findagrave (Accessed on 22 November 2014)

[2] Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-1997," index, Cuyahoga County, FHL microfilm No. 877914.

Our good friend John A.

I love it when something that made no sense suddenly makes sense. This is one of those times. In the 1870 census, right after Margaret is listed, John A. Myerhoff is listed with the occupation of a Fireman on a Railroad Engine. He was born in about 1853 in Ohio.

His occupation is very common among the family as Andrew was a locomotive engineer for the Union Pacific Railroad according to his death Certificate and his obituary.

And as we saw from the death certificates from the last post, both William H. Myerhoff and George Ladd Myerhoff were associated with the railroad in some way. William was a retired railroad engineer for the Nickel Plate (more commonly known as the New York, Chicago, and St. Louis) Railroad, and George was a retired railroad engineer on the Southern Railroad.

But here's the really interesting thing, I found a death record for a John A. REQUADT on 4 May 1913 that was born on 9 May 1853 whose mother is Margaret Deible and whose father is..... August Requedt!!!

This information corresponds perfectly with the 1870 census record as the approximate birth year, occupation, and mother all match. Therefore, the father of John A. Requadt, Charles, and at least Caroline is August Requadt. But another nugget of information is hidden in the death record. John was born in Ohio, not Michigan so it is plausible that the marriage record for August and Margaret is in Ohio. It is also possible that a 1850 census record could possibly be found for the August Requadt family. However, if they were not yet married perhaps August and Margaret can be found individually in Ohio with their parents.

1880 Census

In my last post I stated that by 1880 Charles Myerhoff was living with another woman named Hellen, his son Andrew, and Hellen's mother, Margaret McWorter, in Hazelton, Shiawassee, Michigan.

1880 US Federal Census- Charles Meirhoff

However, at the time I had not been able to find the 1880 US Federal Census for Margaret (Dibble) Requadt Myerhoff to confirm the separation. But hard work paid off and I have been able to locate that census by looking for Charles Requod. As the family is divided by 1880, it seems likely Charles and Margaret divorced between the 1870 and 1880 censuses and more research in the Genesee County court records is needed to ascertain the date and place.  In 1880, Margaret and the rest of the family were living in Ludington, Mason, Michigan, a town 172 miles away from Hazelton.

1880 US Federal Census- Margaret Requod

This information is consistent with the marriage record of Margaret Requadt to Sylvester E. Anderson in Ludington, Michigan 3 years later.

1883 Marriage of Sylvester Anderson to Margaret Requadt

The 1880 Census along with the death certificates of George Ladd Myerhoff and William H. Myerhoff confirms that despite being under the name of William and George Requod on the census, that they were actually the sons of Charles Myerhoff rather than Mr. Requadt. 

 By 1880,  Caroline Amelia or Carrie had not yet married. However, she is not listed with her mother and siblings either because she was not living with them or was not enumerated with them for some reason. As the parentage of Charles Requod has already been established in previous posts it will not be discussed in this post. The only family member left unaccounted for on the 1880 census is Mary. Unfortunately I have been unable to find any further information on her birth, marriage or death. And more research is needed to ascertain parentage.  

Introduction to Charles and Margaret Dibble Myerhoff Family

Myerhoof, Meyerhoof, Myerhough, Mayerhoff, Mayerhofler, Maierhough, and Mirehoff. These are just a few spellings that I have come across while searching for the Charles and Margaret (Dibble) Myerhoff Family. The family name comes from Middle High German mei(g)er which means "higher, superior" and was used for landholder's stewards or great farmers. Hofer simply means farmer in German.  Needless to say the many variations of the surname have made the family difficult to track. Many Myerhoff descendants have dead-ended at Charles & Margaret because of this and other problems. Much is known about Charles and Margaret's lives in America, but not much is known about where they came from... Germany. To help readers understand Charles and Margaret more fully, I will include all the records and data I have uncovered so far. 

We will begin with Charles. Charles Myerhoff was born on 1 April 1826[1]  Family tradition states that he was from Mecklenburg, Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Germany but the place of birth has not been verified.

Charles possibly served in the American Civil War with the 5^th Michigan Infantry.[2] However I have not been able to conclusively ascertain if this is the correct Charles Myerhoff. However,  the connection looks probable as the 1890 Census of Union Veterans was enumerated from Commerce, Oakland, Michigan and shows the post office address for Charles Myerhoff as Walled Lake, Michigan.  Click here to view the Find-a-Grave memorial.

1890 Veterans Schedule- Charles Myerhoff #22

#22 in lower section of document states Charles was shot in the left knee and lived in Walled Lake, Michigan.

Margaret is a little harder to track because her name changed so many times. Her maiden name according to her death certificate was Dibble, and she was born on 29 Jan 1836 in Hessen-Darmstadt, Germany[3]. Also according to her death certificate, her parent’s names were John Diable and [blank] Schafer. 

According to the 1910 US Census, Margaret's immigration year was 1848 which would have made her 12 years old at the time of immigration.[4]

1910 US Federal Census for Margaret Anderson, Saginaw, Michigan

However, the place the Dibble family immigrated to is not known. Margaret was married to an unknown Mr. Requadt in approximately 1858-1859 as the 1870 census clearly shows Charles Requadt was born in 1860. [5]

1870 US Census Flint, Michigan Pg. 1

1870 US Census Flint, Michigan Pg. 2

 Further family ties are implied as Margaret is  buried next to Charles and  his wife Helen and Andrew Myerhoff's daughter Nettie in the Forest Lawn Cemetery in Saginaw, Saginaw, Michigan. Click here for link to Forest Lawn Cemetery Burials.
 Although I have confirmed that Caroline is a Requadt through her marriage record to Bernard Corrigan, I am uncertain about Mary.

  It is not clear if  Mary, who was born in 1865, was a Requadt or a Myerhoff because I have been unable to find Mary's birth certificate or Charles Myerhoff & Margaret (Dibble) Requadt's marrige certificate. However, since I know Andrew is a Myerhoff, I can ascertain that Margaret married Charles between 1865-1868 in Tuscola County, Michigan. However, their story does not end happily. According the the 1880 census, they were either divorced or separated and Charles was married to another woman named Helen and Andrew was living with him. 

By 1883 Margaret married Sylvester Anderson by 3 July 1883 under the name of Margaret Requadt. 

Margaret lived with Sylvester for 20 years before his death and then she moved in with her son George Ladd Myerhoff who was an engineer on the Southern Railroad. George was the informant on Margaret’s death certificate (See Death Certificate above). Click here to view the Find-a-Grave memorial.  

[1] Findagrave (Walled Lake Cemetery, Walled Lake, Oakland, Michigan, United States), Findagrave Memorial No. 10869406, Charles Meirhoff, headstone. Accessed 9/17/2014

[2] 1890 Veterans Schedules, Commerce, Oakland, Michigan; Charles Myerhoff.  Roll: 18; Page: 2; Enumeration District: 95

[3] Kentucky, Death Records, 1852-1953, Kentucky Birth, Marriage and Death Records – Microfilm (1852-1910). Microfilm rolls #994027-994058. Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives, Frankfort, Kentucky.
[4] 1910 US Census, Saginaw, Saginaw, Michigan, population schedule, P. 0942 (penned), Saginaw Ward 7, dwelling 234, family 235, Margaret Anderson, Carrie Corrigan, and Debora Dibble, digital image, Ancestry.com, http://interactive.ancestry.com/8667/MIM123_18-0381/168201?backurl=http%3a%2f%2fsearch.ancestry.com%2fcgi-bin%2fsse.dll%3findiv%3d1%26db%3d1890veterans%26rank%3d1%26new%3d1%26MSAV%3d0%26msT%3d1%26gss%3dangs-d%26gsfn%3dCharles%26gsln%3dMyerhoff%26msrpn__ftp%3dCommerce%252c%2bOakland%252c%2bMichigan%252c%2bUSA%26msrpn%3d44836%26msrpn_PInfo%3d8-%257c0%257c1652393%257c0%257c2%257c3247%257c25%257c0%257c2205%257c44836%257c0%257c%26dbOnly%3d_F00027CB%257c_F00027CB_x%252c_F00027D8%257c_F00027D8_x%26uidh%3dr83%26pcat%3d35%26fh%3d0%26h%3d168201%26recoff%3d10%2b11%26ml_rpos%3d1&ssrc=&backlabel=ReturnRecord, accessed 9/11/2014; citing NARA microfilm publicationT624, 1, 178.
[5] 1870 US Census, Flint, Genesee, Michigan, population schedule, pgs. 9-10 (penned), Flint 1st Ward, dwelling 84, family 83, Charles Myerhough, Margaret Myerhough, Charles Requatd, digital image, FamilySearch.com, https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-266-11686-62093-76?cc=1438024, accessed 9/11/2014; citing NARA Microfilm publication M593, 1,761 rolls.