Sepia Saturday 553. Fifth in a series on my maternal German ancestors, the Stoutners, of Gloversville, Fulton Co., N.Y. — continued from March 2020.
When New York City went into an initial coronavirus lockdown in March 2020, I had just begun writing about my maternal Stoutner ancestors who lived in Gloversville, Fulton County, N.Y.

Alas, the Stoutner family saga was abruptly cut short by a scramble to find masks, stock up on groceries, hunker down to flatten the contagion curve and learn how to live safely during the global pandemic.
The unfolding Covid crisis then drew me to the life of my father’s Uncle Albert Barney Charboneau, who died in the Great Influenza Pandemic of 1918 — a story I had long wanted to tell, with many parallels to our own 100-year pandemic experience.
Returning to the Stoutner story

Now, with the New Year, I am returning to the saga of my mother’s German Stoutner ancestors — starting with a brief recap of earlier posts in this series.
- A Stoutner by any other surname variant introduced my mother and my maternal grandparents — and began the story of my German-American grandmother’s Stoutner ancestors.
- The Stounters’ brick house at 4 Wells Street, Gloversville, NY showed then-and-now photos of the Stoutner family home, built circa 1882 by my great-great grandfather Andrew Stoutner Sr., who was a brick manufacturer.
- 1890: Andrew Stoutner Sr. poses for a photo featured a handsome studio photo of my maternal great-great grandfather.
- 1855-1865: The first two wives of Andrew Stoutner Sr. discusses the sad passing of his first two spouses, each of whom died young.
1865: Enter Christina Albeitz
Which brings us to 1865, when Andrew Stoutner Sr. was a twice-widowed father of two — with a live-in housekeeper to help with his young children, as shown below.
Andrew Stoutner Sr. Family – 1865 New York State Census – Source: FamilySearch |
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Census | Name | Age | Occupation | Born |
1865 NYS Census | Andrew Stoutner (as Stouten) | 34 | Brickmaker, widowed, married twice | Germany |
William Stoutner (as Stouten) | 4 | Child | Fulton County | |
Mary Stoutner (as Stouten) | 1 | Child | Fulton County | |
Margaret Baker | 35 | Housekeeper, widow, married once, mother of 4 | Fulton County |
Fortunately for Andrew and his children, a young woman arrived from Germany circa 1865 who would change all of their lives — my great-great grandmother Christina Albeitz.
When and how she and Andrew met is a mystery — but Christina agreed to marry the handsome widower, who was 12 years her senior, and became a loving stepmother to his children. Her story begins with the next post.
Up next: Introducing Christina (Albeitz) Stoutner. Please stop back! Meanwhile, please visit the blogs of this week’s other Sepia Saturday participants here.
© 2021 Molly Charboneau. All rights reserved.