1870 Flint Michigan Population Pyramid

For the last week I have been working on a population pyramid for the 1870 US Federal Census in Flint Michigan. This "neighborhood snapshot" allowed me to view the Myerhoff family within the context of their neighbors. For example, the Myerhoffs were both immigrants from Germany. Did they have a lot of immigrant neighbors? And if so, were they German? Was this a German enclave or was the family relatively alone? Well, as the pie chart below suggests, most of the Myerhoff's neighbors were born in the United States. However there was a significant immigration population.

Of those foreign neighbors, most were from Canada and Ireland, with only a small contingent of German immigrants. I was interested as to why the family lived away from a German neighborhood and I may have a partial answer. The median real estate amount in that neighborhood was $2,505.88 and the median personal property amount was $654.35. The census taker didn't attribute any real or personal property of value to the Myerhoff family. It seems the census taker didn't list any property under the value of $500, so this means that either the family was poor or they had so little the census taker didn't think it was worthy of notice. My theory is that the family was living in a low income neighborhood because it was what they could afford.

This brings me to the population pyramid. This census was taken 9 years after the beginning of the American Civil War and 5 years after its cessation. Therefore, I expected a dip in men between the ages of 30-49, the age range of males involved in the battle. However, I found that only the 35-39 age range had suffered losses in proportion to women of the same age. This greatly surprised me, but I feel I can account for the difference by noting the percentage of foreign men. As noted above, foreigners accounted for 37% of the neighborhood. I believe that men in their 20's and 30's fought in the Civil War and were lost, but immigrants moved into the neighborhood and account for the equalization of the male population and also account for the high number of females in the 35-39 age range.  

Fairgrove Michigan Wikipedia Article

Recently I was able to create a Wikipedia article about Fairgrove, Tuscola, Michigan where Andrew Charles Myerhoff was born. To view click here.

I Hear the Train A'Comin...

Thanks to the 1870 census[1], an 1887 Saginaw, Michigan city directory[2] listing for John A. Requadt, and the death certificates of William H. Myerhoff[3], Andrew Charles Myerhoff[4] and George Ladd Myerhoff[5] we know that all the males in the Requadt and Myerhoff families were railroaders. This information is helpful because the railroad that employed each man determined where his family settled. Augustus Requadt, for instance, was last found in 1854 in Cuyahoga County, Ohio when he married Margaret Dible.  His wife and children are then found in the 1870 census and his wife, Margaret, is married to Charles Myerhoff. To address this 16 year gap I looked for Augustus or August Requadt employed by a railroad company. Luckily enough I found an 1865 Detroit, Michigan city directory[6] listing of Augustus Requadt as an engineer of the Central Michigan Railroad. 

Augustus Requadt in the 1865 Detroit city directory

Central Michigan Railroad (Public Domain)

This railway originally ran between Detroit, Michigan and St. Joseph, Michigan. This helps explain why the family moved from Ohio to Michigan between 1853 when John was born in Ohio and 1859 when Charles F. Requadt was born in Michigan (per 1870 census). Unfortunately, this is the only listing for Augustus Requadt, which supports my theory that he died between the births of Maryetta Requadt in 1864 and Andrew Charles Myerhoff in 1868.

John A. Requadt:  In an 1887 Saginaw, Michigan city directory listing, John A. Requadt is shown as an engineer on the F & PMRR.

1887 East Saginaw City Directory

 A little research told me that F&PMRR is the abbreviation of the Flint and Pere Marquette Railroad. This railroad ran east to west between Flint, Michigan and Lake Michigan at Ludington, Michigan. This is an important detail because his birth family is found in the 1870 census in Flint, Michigan and in the 1880 census in Ludington, Michigan. The F&PMRR went bankrupt in the late 1890’s and the company merged to become the Pere Marquette Railroad in 1899. About that time, John and his family moved to Saginaw, Michigan which was the new hub for PMRR. John lived out the rest of his life in Saginaw and died there on 4 May 1913.

 Pere Marquette Railway Company (Public Domain)

Charles F. Requadt: According to the 1910 Census[7], Charles F. Requadt was an engineer on a railroad. In the same 1887 Saginaw, Michigan city directory listing as John A. Requadt, Charles F. Requadt is also shown as an engineer on the F & PMRR.

1909 Detroit city directory

By 1906[8] Charles had moved his family to Detroit, Michigan. Although he is found in many Detroit city directories, none of them detail the railroad he worked for.

Andrew Charles Myerhoff: Andrew began his career with the railroad at the age of 19 in 1887 as a fireman on the Flint and Pere Marquette Railroad in Saginaw Michigan[9]. 

1887 East Saginaw city directory

He married his first wife Nettie Ostwood in East Saginaw, Michigan a year later[10]. He continued to work at FPMRR through 1889 and by 1891 he had moved his family to Cleveland, Ohio. I know this is the correct family because the residence (276 Orange) is the same as Nettie’s death record in 1890[11]. 

1891 Cleveland city directory

Nettie Myerhoff Death Record

Andrew stayed in Cleveland for at least another year[12] and then moved back to Michigan where he married Rozena Metzger in 1894[13]. From 1894 to 1900, there are no records for the family, but in the 1900 census[14] Andrew and Rose Myerhoff are found in Chicago, Illinois. Although the census states that his daughter Nettie was born in Indiana in 1897. Andrew’s occupation is crossed out, but you can still make out the words “Engineer Locomo.” The census also states that Andrew had been out of work for 4 months.

1900 Census Chicago, Illinois

In 1903[15] the family moved to Salt Lake City, Utah where Andrew worked for the Oregon Short Line Railroad.  

Oregon Short Line Railway Locomotive circa 1880, Utah State Historical Society (Public Domain)

The OSLRR was a subsidiary of Union Pacific Railway with a main hub located in Salt Lake. Andrew is found regularly in the Salt Lake city directory from 1903 to 1909. However, in 1910 census[16] the family is found 200 miles away in Clover Valley, Elko, Nevada. This was not a permanent move though, because Andrew is found the next year (1911) back in Salt Lake working for Western Pacific Railway[17]. Andrew lived in Salt Lake for the rest of his life and most of his descendants still live in the region.

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Western Pacific Railway (Public Domain)

William H. Myerhoff:  William H. Myerhoff was born 11 May 1873 in Flint, Genesee, Michigan.[18] After his parents divorced, as discussed in previous posts, he lived with his mother. The first place William is found as an adult is in Cleveland, Ohio in 1894.[19] 

 He is listed as a Railroad Fireman living in a boarding house. I was curious as to what a fireman was, so I looked it up. It was someone that stoked the locomotive with coal.  Six years later William shows up in the 1900 census living in Lyme, Ohio[20], a community that lies about 70 miles to the southwest of Cleveland. I know this is the correct William Myerhoff because his birthdate is listed as May 1873, his parents are listed as being born in Germany, and his occupation is a Locomotive Fireman.

 A year later William married Grace Rushton in nearby Norwalk, Ohio[21].   Nine years later William and Grace are found in the 1910 Census[22] in Lyme with their two children, Marian and Charles.

William is listed as an Engineer and owned his own home. William then appears in the 1917 Sandusky County Farmers Directory at 303 Belle Avenue in Bellevue, Ohio[23].

303 Belle Avenue, Bellevue, Ohio

William is shown as an Engineer working for O H&L Railroad. Although I couldn’t find a railway with that abbreviation, I would guess that it stands for Ohio, Huron and Lyme. However a year later in 1918, the family had moved back to Cleveland where William registered for the draft for World War I.[24] 

William’s occupation on his draft card is a Locomotive Engineer for NYC & STL Railroad. This abbreviation stood for New York, Chicago, & St. Louis Railway otherwise known as the Nickel Plate Railway. 

Nickel Plate Railway Map (Public domain)

For the next 21 years, William and his family resided in Cleveland. William died in Cleveland and was buried in Bellevue, Ohio[25].

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George Ladd Myerhoff: George became a fireman on the Flint and Pere Marquette Railroad in Saginaw Michigan in 1887 at the age of 17[26].

1887 East Saginaw city Directory

 By 1898, he had worked himself up to an engineer for the same railroad.[27] 

1898 Saginaw city directory

George married late, he was 32 years old when he married Cora Lassing in 1902 in Michigan[28]. 

1902 Michigan Marriage Record- George Myerhoff and Cora Lassing

By 1906, the couple had moved to Covington, Newport, Kentucky and George was working for the Cincinnati, New Orleans and Texas Pacific Railway[29]. 

1906 Ludlow city directory

George never had any children of his own, but he and Cora took in her nephew Andrew Lassing[30]. 

1910 US Federal Census, George L. Myerhoff, Ludlow, Kenton, Kentucky

Andrew changed his name to Myerhoff and was considered George and Cora’s son, whether or not he was legally adopted[31].

1920 US Federal Census, George L. Myerhoff, Ludlow, Kenton, Kentucky

 George left CNO&TPRy at some point and began working for Southern Railways. I found a newspaper article stating George was responsible for a railway accident while working for Southern Railways, but unfortunately I could not find my copy. As Southern Railway’s hub was in Ludlow, Kentucky, George and his family remained there until 1947 when George died.

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Southern Railway (Public Domain)

[1] 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.

[2] Saginaw, Michigan, City Directory, 1887, p. 337. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 Ancestry.com (Accessed on 12/21/2014)

[3] "Requedt, John A., 1913 Michigan Death Certificate." Saginaw: Death Records, 1897-1920. Seeking Michigan. Accessed December 12, 2014. http://cdm16317.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/singleitem/collection/p129401coll7/id/40471

[4] Myerhoff, Andrew Charles, 1943 Utah Death Certificate. Utah Death Certificates, 1904-1956. Citing Salt Lake, Salt Lake, Utah, United States, certificate 239, series 81448; Utah State Archives Research Center, Salt Lake City, Utah; FHL microfilm 2,260,560.

[5] Myerhoff, George Ladd, 1947 Kentucky Death Certificate. 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.

[6] Detroit, Michigan City Directory, 1865, p. 234. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 Ancestry.com (Accessed on 12/21/2014)

[7] 1910 US Federal Census; Detroit Ward 10, Wayne, Michigan; Roll: T624_684; Page: 4A; Enumeration District: 0145; FHL microfilm: 1374697

[8] Detroit, Michigan, City Directory, 1906; U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989; Ancestry.com (Accessed on 12 December 2014).

[9] Saginaw, Michigan, City Directory, 1887,  U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989; Ancestry.com (Accessed on 12 December 2014)

[10] Michigan, Marriages, 1822-1995: Andrew Meyerhoff & Nellie Ostwood; 30 April 1888; Family History Library, East Saginaw, Michigan.

[11] "Ohio, County Death Records, 1840-2001," index and images, Nettie Myerhoff, 17 Apr 1890; citing Death, Cleveland, Cuyahoga, Ohio, United States, source ID 1886, County courthouses, Ohio; FHL microfilm 1,977,373.

[12] Cleveland, Ohio, City Directory, 189, U.S. City Directories, 1821-198; Ancestry.com (Accessed on 12 December 2014)

[13] Michigan, Marriages, 1822-1995 ; Family History Library, East Saginaw, Michigan. Ancestry.com (Accessed on 12 December 2014) 

[14] 1900 US Federal Census, Chicago Ward 33, Cook, Illinois;  3rd Ward; 26th Precinct bounded by 95th, Exchange Ave, 99th Grand Calumet river, 103rd. Stony Island Ave; Roll: 288; Page:13A; Enumeration District: 1065; FHL microfilm: 1240288; Ancestry.com (Accessed on 12 December 2014)

[15] Salt Lake City, Utah, City Directory, 1903, U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989; Ancestry.com (Accessed on 12 December 2014)

[16] 1910 US Federal Census, Clover Valley, Elko, Nevada; Roll: T624_858; Page:8B; Enumeration District: 0016; FHL microfilm: 1374871

[17] Salt Lake City, Utah, City Directory, 1911, U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989; Ancestry.com (Accessed on 12 December 2014)

[18] Michigan Births and Christenings, 1775–1995." Index. Index entries derived from digital copies of original and compiled records. FamilySearch, Salt Lake City, Utah, 2009, 2010.

[19] Cleveland, Ohio City Directory, 1894, p. 646. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 Ancestry.com (Accessed on 12/21/2014)

[20]  1900 US Federal Census; Lyme, Huron, Ohio; Roll: 1288; Page: 3A; Enumeration District: 0025 Bellevue Village (pt), Ward 3, 4; FHL microfilm: 1241288. National Archives and Records Administration, 1900. T623, 1854 rolls.

[21] Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-1997; Huron Marriage records 1899-1903 Vol 8, page 349, Family History Library, Ohio.

[22] 1910 US Federal Census; Lyme, Huron, Ohio, Roll: T624_1200; Page: 10A; Enumeration District: 0028, Bellevue City (part), Precincts 3, 4, 5; FHL microfilm: 1375213. NARA microfilm publication T624, 1,178 rolls.

[23] Ohio and Florida, City Directories, 1902-1960; The Farm Journal Illustrated Rural Directory of Sandusky County Ohio; 1917; Page 174; Wilmer Atkinson Company; 1915. State of Ohio and Farm Directories/State of Ohio, 1902-1933. Microfilm, 9 rolls. Gale, Farmington Hills, Michigan.

[24] U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918, Registration State: Ohio; Registration County: Cuyahoga; Roll: 1411594; Draft Board: 01, Draft Card M. World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918.

[25] Ohio, Deaths, 1908-1953," index and images, William H Myerhoff, 23 Mar 1941; citing Cleveland, Cuyahoga, Ohio, reference fn. 16147; FHL microfilm 2,023,894. FamilySearch. 

[26] Saginaw, Michigan, City Directory, 1887,  U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989; Ancestry.com (Accessed on 12 December 2014)

[27]  Saginaw, Michigan, City Directory, 1898,  U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989; Ancestry.com (Accessed on 12 December 2014)

[28] "Michigan, Marriages, 1868-1925," index and images, G.L. Meyerhoff and Cora Lossing, 31 Dec 1902; citing Grant, St Clair, Michigan, v 4 p 163 rn 11637, Department of Vital Records, Lansing; FHL microfilm 2,342,523. Ancestry.com (Accessed on 12 December 2014)

[29] Covington, Kentucky, City Directory, 1906, U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989; Ancestry.com (Accessed on 12 December 2014)

[30] 1910 US Federal Census, Ludlow Ward 4, Kenton, Kentucky; Roll: T624_489;Page: 6A; Enumeration District: 0128; FHL microfilm: 1374502; Ancestry.com (Accessed on 12 December 2014)

[31] 1920 US Federal Census,  Ludlow, Kenton, Kentucky; Roll: T625_584; Page:18B; Enumeration District: 136; Image: 860; Ancestry.com (Accessed on 12 December 2014)