Tag Archives: John H. Stoutner

Albeitz, Stoutner

1875-1880: New additions to the Stoutner family

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Sepia Saturday 560. Twelfth in a series on my maternal German ancestors, the Stoutners, of Gloversville, Fulton Co., N.Y.

Christina (Albeitz) Stoutner (1844-1924). Scan by Molly Charboneau

When the 1875 New York State census was enumerated, there were two new additions to the blended family of my maternal great-great grandparents Andrew and Christina (Albeitz) Stoutner of Gloversville, Fulton County, New York.

Their first surviving child together — John H. Stoutner (b. 1869) — appeared in the 1870 U.S. census, along with the family’s two older children William and Mary E. Stoutner from Andrew’s second marriage.

By 1875, two more children had been born to the couple — a daughter Gertrude (b. 1871) and a son Andrew “Pete” Jr. (b. 1874). Pete is my great grandfather. And by 1880, the younger children were all in school, as shown in the table below.

Family of Andrew and Christina (Albeitz) Stoutner in the 1875 NYS[1]FamilySearch requires free login to view records. and 1880 U.S.[2]Ibid.censuses of Johnstown/Gloversville, Fulton Co., N.Y. – Source: FamilySearch
Name Age in 1875 Job/Details 1875 Age in 1880 Job/Details 1880
Andrew Stoutner 42 Brick Mfg.; Born in Germany; Naturalized; Brick house worth $2,000 47 Brick Mfg.; Born in Germany
Christina Stoutner  30 Born in Germany 35 Keeping House; Born in Germany
William Stoutner 14 Works in brick yard; Unemployed for 6 mos. 18 Brick Maker
Mary E. Stoutner 11 — 16 —
John Stoutner 6 — 10 At school
Gertrude Stoutner 3 yrs. 11 mos. — 8 At school
Andrew Stoutner Jr. 9 mos. — 5 At school

A family of teens and toddlers

Andrew Stoutner Sr. (1832-1910). Scan by Molly Charboneau

During these years, the Stoutner household was a mix of teens and toddlers — with William and Mary becoming young adults while their younger siblings were at play and at school. Undoubtedly a busy and boisterous home with such a wide age spread among the children.

Andrew Sr. followed brick making tradition by bringing his oldest son William into the business during his teens — perhaps only on a part-time basis in 1875, since the census indicates that at age 14 he was unemployed for 6 months that year. By 1880, William, 18, had graduated to Brick Maker.

Nor was this uncommon in other upstate New York industries at the time — as I discovered while researching my dad’s Uncle Albert, who began work in an Adirondack saw mill at age 15. He went on to a career in lumber.

The dawn of photography

I dearly wish that photography had been widespread enough for there to be a group shot of the Stoutner family during this period. Yet despite advances during the U.S. Civil War, most photos were take in studios — or by traveling professionals who might photograph a family home for a fee.

My maternal great grandfather Andrew “Pete” Stoutner, Jr. c. 1880 at about age 5. Pete was the son of Andrew Stoutner and his third wife, my great-great grandmother Christina (Albeitz) Stoutner. Scan by Molly Charboneau

Fortunately, my Stoutner ancestors seem to have taken to photography — perhaps to send photos back home — because I have inherited a number of studio shots, including one of my great grandfather Pete (above) as a child and another of his older half-sister Mary (below) taken around the same time.

Mary E. Stoutner c. 1880 at about age 16. Mary was the daughter of Andrew Stoutner and his late second wife Elizabeth — and the older half-sister of my great-grandfather Pete. Scan by Molly Charboneau

Alas, I have no photos of the other Stoutner children in their youth. Nevertheless, these two studio portraits of Pete and Mary amply illustrate the age and maturity range among the Stoutner siblings toward the end of the 19th Century.

Up next: Some technical work on Molly’s Canopy will require a few weeks off, but blogging should resume by the end of March — or early April for the A to Z Challenge 2021. 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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References

References
↑1 FamilySearch requires free login to view records.
↑2 Ibid.
Albeitz, Stoutner

1869: Baby John brightens the Stoutner household

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Sepia Saturday 558. Tenth in a series on my maternal German ancestors, the Stoutners, of Gloversville, Fulton Co., N.Y.

Christina (Albeitz) Stoutner (1844-1924). Scan by Molly Charboneau

The marriage of my German immigrant great-great grandparents Andrew and Christina (Albeitz) Stoutner got off to a difficult start with the tragic October 1868 death of 7-month-old baby Rose — their first child together.

The couple was already co-parenting William, 6, and Mary Elizabeth, 4 — Andrew’s children with his second wife Elizabeth, who died in 1865. Now, the blended Stoutner family had to begin a new period of mourning for a lost child/sibling.

Fortunately, Rose’s passing came at a time when mourning rituals were changing in the wake of the U.S. Civil War. Mourning periods grew shorter and there was more focus on looking to the future – with cemeteries designed like parks to encourage family visits.

https://www.facebook.com/Pictorial-History-of-Gloversville-148220148548697
Prospect Hill Cemetery, Gloversville, N.Y. (1898) After the U.S. Civil War, cemeteries were designed like parks to encourage family visits. Prospect Hill Cemetery, where Rose is buried, was one of these garden cemeteries — with softly winding paths, trees and foliage that must must have been a healing balm to the Stoutners. Photo: Pictorial History of Gloversville

Prospect Hill Cemetery in Gloversville, N.Y., where Rose is buried, was one of these garden cemeteries, with softly winding paths, trees and foliage – which must have been a healing balm to the Stoutners.

Baby John is born

Yet perhaps the surest sign that my great-great grandparents were looking forward was the October 1969 birth of their first son together – John Stoutner, who would survive into adulthood.

How relieved the family must have been to have a new addition to brighten the household and distract them from past losses.

When the census taker called on 7 July 1870, baby John was nine months old — enumerated for the first time, along with his step siblings and parents, as excerpted below.

Andrew Stoutner Household in the 1870 U.S. census, Johnstown, Fulton County, N.Y. – Source: FamilySearch
Person No. Name Age Born Occupation/School
20 Stoutner, Andrew 38 Prussia Brick Maker; U.S. Citizen
21 Stoutner, Christina 26 Prussia Keeping House; cannot read/write
22 Stoutner, Wm. 8 N.Y. Attended School; Can’t write
23 Stoutner, Mary E. 6 N.Y. Attended School; Can’t read or write
24 Stoutner, John H. 9/12 N.Y. Month if born within one year: Oct.

A gem of a census

Sometimes family history research turns up a gem of a census return, packed with helpful details and clues — and the 1870 enumeration of the Andrew Stoutner household is one such example.

Andrew Stoutner (1832-1910). Scan by Molly Charboneau

Through this census, I learned that Andrew and Christina were from Prussia in northern Germany. And while Andrew, a brick maker, could read and write, Christina could not — at least not in English, although the census does not stipulate a specific language.

Birth, schooling, citizenship details

Because John was born during the previous year, the census return provides his birth month “Oct.” in column 13 — which is headed “If born within one year, state month (Jan, Feb, &c.).”

The 1870 census also reveals that Andrew was a U.S. citizen through a tick mark in column 19 — which is headed “Male Citizen of the U.S. 21 years of age and upwards.”

Even William and Mary’s enumerations offer telling details. William could read, but could not yet write — while his younger sister Mary, no doubt new to school, could not yet read or write.

In short, an informative 1870 snapshot of a family with shared experience of both sorrow and happiness moving into the future together.

Up next: Andrew Stoutner’s Brick Works. 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

By 1868: Christina Albeitz weds Andrew Stoutner

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Sepia Saturday 556. Eighth in a series on my maternal German ancestors, the Stoutners, of Gloversville, Fulton Co., N.Y.

Christina (Albeitz) Stoutner (1844-1924). Scan by Molly Charboneau

After her 1865 arrival of in New York City from Germany, my maternal great-great grandmother Christina (Albeitz) Stoutner appears to have headed upstate to the Gloversville-Johnstown area of Fulton County.

The natural beauty of the Mohawk Valley region south of the Adirondack mountains– with its many lakes, rivers and forests — may have reminded Christina of her former Prussian home.

https://www.digitalcommonwealth.org/search/commonwealth:2v23vv86g
Bird’s-Eye View of Gloversville, N.Y. from Meyers Park (c. 1930-45). New York’s Mohawk Valley region south of the Adirondack mountains — with its lakes, rivers and forests — may have reminded Christina of her home in the  Prussian region of Germany. Image: Digitalcommonwealth.org

When did Christina wed Andrew Stoutner?

In these new surroundings, my great-great grandmother soon married the twice-widowed Andrew Stoutner, who had immigrated from Germany in the 1850s — and she became a stepmother to his two young children William and Mary.

As with much else about Christina, the exact date of her marriage to Andrew is still a mystery waiting to be solved — but there are nevertheless some preliminary clues. Sadly, one of them is the death of their first child together — Rose Stoutner, at age 7 months, on 18 Oct. 1868.

When did Christina Albeitz marry Andrew Stoutner of Johnstown/Gloversville, Fulton County, NY? Sources: FamilySearch (censuses); Find-a-Grave (stone inscription)
Year Source Details Marriage Year
1868 Tombstone inscription , Propect Hill Cem., Gloversville, NY Death of daughter Rose Stoutner (age 7 months)  – 10 Feb. 1868-18 Oct. 1868 By 1867 (estimated)
1870 US Census (taken 7 July 1870) Oldest son John is 9 mos. old (est. DOB Oct. 1869) By 1868 (estimated)
1900 US Census Married 25 years 1875 (estimated)
1910 US Census Married 45 years 1865 (estimated)
1920 US Census Christina was naturalized in 1866 1866 (estimated)

What do these sources tell us? 

The year of their infant Rose’s birth and death point to a marriage during or before 1867. This is supported by 1870 census details about their oldest surviving child, John, who was 9 months old at census time — thus born in 1869. His tombstone inscription also gives an 1869 birth year.

The 1900 federal census appears to be an anomaly. An 1875 marriage doesn’t fit the birth years of any of Christina and Andrew’s children — from Rose in 1868 and John in 1869 to the birth years, from other sources, of their other surviving children Gertrude (ca. 1871 ) and son Andrew  (ca. 1874).

Fast forward to the 1910 federal census, when Andrew and Christina were enumerated as married 45 years. This again fits with a marriage before 1867 — possibly as early as 1865, shortly after Christina’s arrival.

https://pixabay.com/photos/bouquet-roses-flowers-floral-691862/
Bridal bouquet. In 1855, a new U.S. law allowed immigrant women to become naturalized citizens upon marrying a U.S citizen. So if Christina’s year of naturalization was 1866, that was also likely the year when she wed Andrew Stoutner, a naturalized citizen. Image: Pixabay

A valuable citizenship clue

Yet perhaps the best clue is from the 1920 census, when Christina’s year of naturalization is given as 1866 — the year after her arrival.

In 1855, a new U.S. law allowed immigrant women to become naturalized citizens upon marrying a U.S citizen. According to an article by Marian L. Smith in Prologue Magazine:[1]Smith, Marian L. “‘Any woman who is now or may hereafter be married…’ Women and Naturalization ca. 1802-1940.” Prologue Magazine 30, 2  (Summer 1998). Electronic … Continue reading

The act of February 10, 1855, was designed to benefit immigrant women. Under that act, “[a]ny woman who is now or may hereafter be married to a citizen of the United States, and who might herself be lawfully naturalized, shall be deemed a citizen.” Thus alien women generally became U.S. citizens by marriage to a U.S. citizen or through an alien husband’s naturalization.

Andrew Stoutner was a naturalized citizen when he and Christina married. So her naturalization — stated as 1866 on the 1920 US census — would likely date from when they wed.

Again, more research to do — but with valuable clues to help point the way.

Up next: The blended Stoutner family in Gloversville, New York. 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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References

References
↑1 Smith, Marian L. “‘Any woman who is now or may hereafter be married…’ Women and Naturalization ca. 1802-1940.” Prologue Magazine 30, 2  (Summer 1998). Electronic edition. National Archives https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/1998/summer/women-and-naturalization-1.html : 2021.