Tag Archives: Andrew Stoutner

Albeitz, Stoutner

Introducing Christina (Albeitz) Stoutner

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Sepia Saturday 554. Sixth in a series on my maternal German ancestors, the Stoutners, of Gloversville, Fulton Co., N.Y.

My maternal great-great grandmother Christina (Albeitz) Stoutner — the third wife of Andrew Stoutner Sr.  —  is shown here in an undated studio photo wearing a stunning beaded outfit.

She was born in the mid 1800s in Germany — but as with many of my other immigrant ancestors, there is some mystery about the details.

Undated photo of Christina (Albeitz) Stoutner by Frey Photography of Syracuse, N.Y. My maternal great-great grandmother Christina was born in the mid 1800s in Germany, but as with many of my immigrant ancestors, there is some mystery about the details. Scan by Molly Charboneau

When was Christina born?

Sources below place her birth between 1842 and 1845. While most indicate Christina was born in Germany, the earliest source says she was born in Prussia — the portion of Germany located south of the Baltic Sea.

To find the most accurate birth date, the obvious solution is to locate Christina’s birth or baptismal registration in Germany/Prussia. Ah, if only it were so easy!

With so many family lines to research, I decided years ago that I would focus on tracing each immigrant ancestor from their arrival in the U.S. — so I have not yet researched Christina’s early life. Which leaves me with the sources shown here.

Christina (Albeitz) Stoutner’s Date of Birth – Sources: FamilySearch (census entries) and family records (death certificate and tombstone photo)
Source Location Name Age Born Birthplace
1870 US census Johnstown, Fulton Co., New York Christina Stoutner 26 1844 (estimated) Prussia
1875 NYS census Johnstown, New York Christina Stoutner 30 1845 (estimated) Germany
1880 US census Gloversville, Fulton Co., New York Cristine Stoutner 35 1845 (estimated) Germany
1900 US census Gloversville, New York Christina Stoutner 56 June 1843 (penned) Germany
1905 NYS census Gloversville, New York Christine Stoutner 61 1844 (estimated) Germany
1910 US census Gloversville, New York Christina Stoutner 65 1845 (estimated) Germany
1915 NYS census Gloversville, New York Christina Stoutner 71 1844 (estimated) Germany
1920 US census Gloversville, New York Christina Stoutner 75 1845 (estimated) Germany
1924 NYS Death Certif. Gloversville, New York Christina Stoutner 81 yrs, 9 mos, 17 days Aug. 1, 1842 (penned) Germany
Tombstone: Prospect Hill Cemetery Gloversville, New York Christina Stoutner, wife of Andrew Stoutner 80 (calculated from engraved date of death: May 17, 1924) Aug. 1, 1844 (engraved) —

Estimated, penned and engraved dates

The census is an imprecise genealogical tool, since it was designed to collect demographic data rather than link us to our ancestors. Nevertheless, it does offer clues to point us in the right direction.

At census time, Christina (or a household member) gave her age to the census taker — and her year of birth was later estimated by indexers. As she appears to have a summer birthday (in either June or August) a different birth year — either 1844 or 1845 — might be estimated from her age depending on the month the census was taken.

The 1900 federal census is the only one with a specific month and year for Christina penned in by the census taker (June 1843) — and it varies from the other census returns.

I believe this is a census-taker error, because the same household enumeration in 1900 shows an inaccurate birth year (1863) for Andrew and Christina’s son Andrew Jr., 26. He was actually born in 1875.

Tombstone of Christina (Albeitz) Stoutner, Prospect Hill Cemetery, Gloversville, N.Y. (1992) My best guess is that Christina’s date of birth as engraved on her tombstone — Aug. 1, 1844 — is probably accurate. Photo: Molly Charboneau

Settling for a best guess

The details on Christina’s death certificate were supplied by a funeral director, rather than a family member, so that date-of-birth information is also suspect.

My best guess, until I find additional sources, is that Christina’s date of birth as engraved on her tombstone — Aug.1, 1844 — is probably more accurate. Her children likely supplied the information for the stone at the time of her death/burial — possibly from family records and/or their own knowledge.

Clearly, more research is needed on my great-great grandmother Christina’s birth and early years. For now, on to her life after immigration.

Up next: Christina (Albeitz) Stoutner’s mysterious U.S. arrival. Please stop back! Meanwhile, please visit the blogs of this week’s  other Sepia Saturday participants here.

© 2021 Molly Charboneau. All rights reserved.

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Albeitz, Stoutner

Continuing the Stoutner family saga

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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.

https://ark.digitalcommonwealth.org/ark:/50959/2v23vv902
Main Street, Gloversville, N.Y. (circa 1930-45). This post returns to the saga of my mother’s German Stoutner ancestors who lived in Gloversville, Fulton County, N.Y.  At right is the Carnegie Library, where my mother and I researched her family during a 1992 genealogy road trip to her hometown. Image: Digital Commonwealth – Massachusetts Collections Online

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

The Stoutner family of Gloversville, N.Y., circa 1908. My great-great grandfather Andrew Stoutner, center, holds my grandmother Elizabeth on his lap. To his left is my great-great grandmother Christina Albeitz, his third wife. They are surrounded by their extended family in a photo most likely taken outside their 4 Wells Street home in Gloversville. N.Y. Click here for fuller caption and details. Photo scan by Molly Charboneau

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.

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
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.

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Albeitz, Stoutner

1855-65: The first two wives of Andrew Stoutner Sr.

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Sepia Saturday 510. Fourth in a series on my maternal German ancestors, the Stoutners, of Gloversville, Fulton Co., N.Y.

My maternal great-great grandfather Andrew Stoutner Sr. was successful in business after immigrating from Germany and establishing a brick works near Gloversville, Fulton County, N.Y.

Yet his personal life was punctuated by unimaginable loss — making him a widower twice over before the age of 35. This post will chronicle what little I know about his first two wives — who are buried side-by-side in Gloversville’s Prospect Hill Cemetery.

https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47e0-e1fe-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99
Women and bonnets (1860). My German immigrant great-great grandfather Andrew Stoutner Sr. married three times. Sadly, his first two wives Catherine and Elizabeth died young. I am descended from his third wife, Christina. Image: NYPL Digital Collection

Andrew’s first wife Catherine

When I started researching my family, I was focused on accumulating as much information as I could — but I was not so careful about citing my sources. So the only written information I have about Andrew’s first wife, Catherine, is an unsourced, undated note in my files that says:

Catherine A. Stoutner – Nov. 4, 1839 – Mar. 25, 1858, at age 19 – died in childbirth – came with him from Germany?

Tombstone of Catharine A. Stoutner, first wife of Andrew Stoutner Sr., Prospect Hill Cemetery, Gloversville, N.Y. (1992). Photo by Molly Charboneau

Catherine’s dates of birth and death appear on her tombstone in — and I believe my mother may have gotten the other information from an aunt and a cousin on the Stoutner. But how to verify those details?

A tragic first marriage

Andrew immigrated to the U.S. circa 1855 at about age 22. So I checked the 1855 New York State Census[1]1855 N.Y.S. census: FamilySearch requires free login to view records. and found an Andrew Stoutner, 22, in Johnstown, Fulton County, N.Y. He had lived in town for two months when the census-taker called in June, according the census image.

Andrew, a laborer born in Germany, was the “head” of a household of seven other male German immigrant “boarders” around the same age, who had also been in town two months. If this is my Andrew, then he did not have a wife with him — so he either met Catherine in the U.S. or sent for her to join him.

The family story of her tragic 1858 death in childbirth also supports their marrying after 1855. Yet I have not found a grave for her and there was no New York statewide register of deaths at that time — so I know no more about Catherine than what is contained in my file note.

Andrew’s second wife Elizabeth

My files contain a similar unsourced, undated note about Andrew’s second wife Elizabeth that reads:

Elizabeth D. Stoutner – April 20, 1844 – June 15, 1865 at age 21 – mother of William Stoutner (b. 1862) and Mary Stoutner (b. 1864).

Tombstone of Elizabeth D. Stoutner, first wife of Andrew Stoutner Sr., Prospect Hill Cemetery, Gloversville, N.Y. (1992). Photo by Molly Charboneau

Elizabeth’s dates of birth and death are also engraved on her tombstone. And there is a record of Elizabeth living with Andrew in the 1860 U.S. census of Johnstown, Fulton County, N.Y.[2]1860 U.S. census: FamilySearch requires free login to view records.

Her children William and Mary also appear with Andrew, a widower, in the 1865 N.Y..S census of Johnstown[3]1865 N.Y.S. census: FamilySearch requires free login to view records. enumerated on the nineteenth of June — just four days after Elizabeth’s death (if my dates are accurate).

Andrew Stoutner Sr.  Family – Census Enumerations – Source: FamilySearch
Census Name Age Occupation Born
1860 US Census Andrew Stoutner 26 Mechanic – Brick Maker Germany
Elizabeth Stoutner 19 — New York
1865 NYS Census Andrew Stoutner (as Stouten) 34 Brickmaker, widowed, married twice Germany
William Stoutner (as Stouten) 4 Child Fulton
Mary Stoutner (as Stouten) 1 Child Fulton
Margaret Baker 35 Housekeeper, widow, married once, mother of 4 Fulton

A heartbreaking second marriage

The 1865 census implies that Elizabeth may have been ill for a while — perhaps since the birth of her daughter Mary the year before — because the family already had a live-in housekeeper, Margaret Baker, at the time of Elizabeth’s death.

It’s hard to imagine how devastated Andrew must have been after the heartbreaking loss of his second wife Elizabeth — leaving him a twice-widowed father of two young, grieving children. Yet he was not alone at a time when many had lost loved ones during the U.S. Civil War.

https://pixabay.com/photos/roses-plants-flowers-nature-woman-316749/
Muted rose. My German immigrant great-great grandfather Andrew Stoutner Sr. was a twice widowed father of two toddlers when he met and married his third wife — my great-great grandmother Christina Albeitz, also from Germany. She brought love to help heal their loss, and became the matriarch of the blended Stoutner family. Photo: pixabay/PublicDomainPictures

Love heals the loss

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 become 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.

© 2020 Molly Charboneau. All rights reserved.

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References

↑1 1855 N.Y.S. census: FamilySearch requires free login to view records.
↑2 1860 U.S. census: FamilySearch requires free login to view records.
↑3 1865 N.Y.S. census: FamilySearch requires free login to view records.