OUR SAEMANN FAMILY
Generation 3

Generation 3
JOHANN MICHAEL SAEMANN (m. Elisabetha Baumann)
Emigrant

Generation 4

JOHANN MICHAEL SAEMANN
Generation 3
Emigrant

BACKGROUND

JOHANN MICHAEL SAEMANN was born on 6 October 1804 at Gündelbach, Württemberg, Germany. He was always known as John Michael.

He was married on 16 June 1830 to ELISABETHA BAUMANN.

Elisabetha was born 21 September 1810, also at Gündelbach, the daughter of Alexander and Catharina (Gärtner) Baumann.

Go to the BAUMANN FAMILY

EMIGRATION TO AMERICA
1840

The family left their ancestral homeland never to return. On the 16th of March, 1840, they set sail bound for the United States of America*.

* From the sketch for Noah Saemann in the Sheboygan County history, it was noted that they sailed for the United States on 16 March 1840. The voyage took 41 days and they arrived at the New York Harbor. They “travelled overland by boat and various other conveyances, making several unavoidable stops but eventually reaching Sandusky, Ohio.” Cameo showing Saemann Family on the Ship’s Manifest, 1840, Silvie de Grasse The above photo was sent to me by a Saemann descendant; it has no identification, i.e., the date or source. However, she told me that it was from the 1840 passenger list of the Silvie de Grasse. This list does not jibe with the record of the emigration as portrayed in the Sheboygan biographical sketch of descendant Noah. Two other biographical sketches state that the family emigrated in 1838 and 1839, respectively. I tend to go with the 1840 account as it gives specific information. See my comparative chart, below. The parents, Johannes and his wife Ida Saemann emigrated to Columbus, Ohio, in 1843. One suspects to be near the two sons already here. It remains unknown when their son, Christoph Friedrich (brother of Johann Michael) emigrated to Wisconsin. Silvie de Grasse The U.S. ship Sylvie (or Silvie) de Grasse, was built at Hartford, Connecticut, by D. & H. Burgess in 1833, for the Old Line (later called the Union Line) of sailing packets between New York and Le Havre. 641 tons; 140 ft 6 in x 31 ft 8 in x 15 ft 10 in (length x beam x depth of hold). She was named after Sylvie de Grasse, daughter of the French admiral who had made possible the American victory at Yorktown, and wife of Francis Depau, a native of Bayonne, France, who had emigrated to the United States by way of Haiti, and was the co-founder and principal owner of the Old Line. The vessel was sold for California in 1848, and in September 1849 struck a rock ledge and sank at the mouth of the Columbia River with nearly a half million feet of lumber aboard. Robert Greenhalgh Albion, Square-Riggers on Schedule: The New York Sailing Packets to England, France, and the Cotton Ports (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1938), pp. 104, 284. Two nice websites featuring immigrant ships are:I See Ancestors Immigrant Ship Transcriber’s Guild (ISTG)

Germans began emigrating to America in earnest in the 1830s-1840s.
German Immigration: 1830-1840. The page was authoried by “Chad, Karen, Ingrid”, probably for a school project. It’s a beautiful page with good information about immigration at around the time our Saemann family did so.

The family in the year 1840 consisted of at least two children, Johannes (b. 1834), Christina Sabina (b. 1837).*

* All of the published personal sketches and obituaries of our family members exclude any mention of Dorothea Friderika, when they recount the emigration of this family. They all state that the emigrating family consisted of the parents and two children. If we assume that the family left Germany in March of 1840, and their second daughter, Dorothea Friderika, was born in 1839, then she would have been with the family when they came to the United States and have been about five to seven months old upon arrival. According to a note in the baptismal record (“Vermerk im Taufregister”) dated 1841, she died in America (“wohl schon in Amerika”). Considering that all of the obituaries and county biographies were published in the 1880s up through the 1920s, it is not unreasonable that they would have omitted any reference to a child who died within a year of coming to the country, under two, and who was buried and left behind in Ohio. In those days, it was not unusual to lose children at very young ages, and families picked themselves up, emotionally, and moved on.

RECORDED MIGRATIONS OF FAMILY

We have several different, and conflicting, accounts of their activity and migration after their arrival in the United States. I’ve prepared a small chart, below, detailing the recorded movement of the family. The source “PB&R” is the Portrait & Biographical Record of Sheboygan County, Wisconsin (1894). Below the chart and map, see my assessment of the information presented in the chart.*

PB&R p. 311	PB&R p. 567	Obit May 4	Bio of Noah S.
JS & EB sailed abt 1838	sailed 1839		sailed Mar 1840
			Sandusky Ohio
	Marion, OH		Marion Co Ohio 1840
Warren Co Ohio		Columbus Ohio 1844	Columbus Ohio 1844
Wash Co Wis 1846	Jackson, Wash Co Wis		Cedar Lake, Wash Co, Wis 1848
Mitchell, Sheb Co Wis 1849	Scott, Sheb Co Wis 1854	Sheboygan Co Wis 1854	Scott, Sheboygan Co Wis 1851

The Google map just below is moveable. Place your cursor over the map, hold down the left-button on your mouse, and you can move the map around.

View Larger Map

* If the family arrived at Sandusky (Erie Co), their going immediately to Warren County seems not as likely as other counties – it’s in the extreme SW corner of the state, quite a distance from Sandusky. A progression of the family from arriving at Sandusky, going south to Marion County, Ohio, and later to Columbus (Franklin County), Ohio would seem a logical pattern of movement. Sandusky is in the north of the state, west of the town of Lorain, as seen on the map, below.

FROM OHIO TO WISCONSIN

After the family’s stay in Ohio, I tend to believe they migrated first to Washington County, Wisconsin, as reported in two of the biographical materials we have available. One states they left Ohio and in 1848 went to Cedar Lake, which according to maps I’ve looked at, isn’t a town. Another sketch says they were to Jackson, which is a town.

So far no research has been done to locate any verifiable documentation on their being in Washington County. I’m thinking primarily of land records, as I don’t think anyone in the family died there or was married there. As time permits, I will do so. I’ve found that most of the time, groups will migrate together, and it is possible that this family removed to Wisconsin with others, maybe old friends from Germany or new ones from Ohio. They may have remained in Washington County for three years before deciding to move on to Sheboygan County. One sketch says they were there from 1846-49; another from 1848-51.

Jackson is an established town in Washington County, whereas Cedar Lake is just that, a lake and not a town. They certainly would have travelled through Chicago and Milwaukee and then proceeded on what is now the North-South Highway 45. When they left Washington County, they would have gone through West Bend, then veered off Northeast on what is now State roads 144 and 28 into Scott Township, Sheboygan County.

At any rate, the Saemanns were in Sheboygan at least by 1847 when there was land purchased in August of that year.

SOME LAND TRANSACTIONS

The Saemans were in real estate. There were many entries for them and much of the land they purchased may never have been bought to keep. All the following entries were from Scott Township, Sheboygan County, in Section 13 of Township 13, Range 20; all copied from “the 2nd book”.

• 27 August 1847 – MICHAEL SAEMAN bought from United States – NE1/4. This is most likely Johann Michael Saemann, the elder.
  
  
• 1 August 1849 – MICHAEL SEAMAN [sic] bought from United States – NE1/4. Ditto.
  
  
• 22 April 1858 – JOHN SAEMAN bought from JOHN M. SAEMANN and wife – S1/2 NW1/4. The buyer is probably John Saemann (the eldest son), buying property from his father, Johann M. Saemann.
  
  
• 25 April 1865 – JOHN M. SAEMANN and wife sold to Batavia Church of the Evangelical Association of America – 60 rods S of N. W or NE 1/4 Sec 13 NE 3 rods – 34 rods W 3 Rods N 4 Rods. This would be John M. & Elisabetha (Baumann) Saemann. [This land may have been donated.]

In another land transaction, John M. Saemann “sen.” bought land from Karl Duft on 18 January 1868, also in Scott Township, Section 13.

THE CHURCH AT BATAVIA

Johann Michael and Elisabetha were very active and devoted members of their church in Batavia. In 1950, the name of the church was Zion Evangelical United Brethren Church of Batavia, Wisconsin. At the celebration of 100 years, the church published a booklet, a copy of which I have in my files. A brief, paraphrased, account of the history of the church follows.

THE STORY OF OUR CHURCH The beginning of this story takes us back to the years of the latter 1840s, when a number of families migrated from Ohio and New York and settled in the township of Scott, a fine farming community watered by the Stanley and Batavia Creeks and others, together with the Milwaukee River. Two of these early families are Louis Nauman and George Rau, who were members of the Evangelical Association in Ohio. Another prominent pioneer family was John Michael Saeman, who left Ohio in the 1840s but settled in Washington County before coming to Scott Township in 1851.* * This historical note is curious since we have a land transaction dated 1847 by a “Michael Saemann”, I have assumed was our Johann Michael Saemann. The land records of “Michael Saemann”’s land purchases in 1847 and 1848 will have to be compared against later land ownership of Johann Michael Saemann to see if they are one and the same individual. The first Evangelical minister to visit Sheboygan County was Rev. Joseph Harlacher, a member of the Illinois Conference. Sheboygan began as a Mission in 1848 and on May 29, 1849 was organized as a congregation. Rev. Harlacher served this new congregation. In the spring of 1849 he moved his family from Richfield to Sheboygan. He was a good missionary, canvassing homes and following Evangelical people. He could speak and preach in both trhe English and German languages, and was a dynamic speaker. He had eight other appointments in Sheboygan and Washington Counties, traveling on foot to his Classes, one of which comprised the Scott families.* * It may have been while in Washington County and fellowshipping with Rev. Harlacher’s group there, that Johann & Elisabetha heard about Scott Township and subsequently decided to move their family there. Harlacher’s salary in 1848-1849 was $62.16. The following year he received eight cents more. In 1850 the Illinois Conference found it necessary to combine the Washington Circuit with the Menominie Circuit in order to give more attention to the Mission at Sheboygan. On 31 December 1851, the Sunday School at Batavia was established. The first Superintendent was John Michael Saeman, who, along with another man, taught the school. Children came to this school from Batavia, Silver Creek and Beechwood. Mr. Saeman carried the songbooks and other material to and from Sunday School in a market basket. When the General Conference met in April of 1856 at Freeport, Illinois, it organized the Wisconsin Conference. The Menomonie Circuit was divided. Batavia was often spoken of as the Saeman Class and was served from the new Sheboygan Circuit. At first the Batavia group had “home church” as it is recorded that in 1859, the Bishop J. Seybert visited Batavia and preached in the John Michael Saeman home. Elizabeth (Baumann) Saemann “Wife of John Michael Saeman, Church Pioneer” After meeting in homes and later schools, in 1865 a frame church was built by Frederick Fuchs at the north end of Batavia Village on land donated by John Michael Saeman.* * This is where the land transaction comes in. This site was in 1950 owned by Dr. Ira Bemis and is located across the street from the (in 1950) Marvin Miller residence. In the early German records it can be read that on 25 April 1865, the Zion Evangelical Church was organized. Among its officers was John Michael Saeman as one of the Trustees. The incorporation was notarized by Isaac Brazelton, Justice of the Peace. First Church – Built in 1865 As time passed Zion Evangelical Congregation had outgrown the building (built in 1865), and they sold it in 1872 to the German Methodist Episcopal Congregation. On 23 July 1872, they bought a larger building from the United Brethren Church for $500. It was 34 ft. x 44 ft. and had been built in 1862. The trustees of the Church made the transaction, and one of them was John Saeman.* The reason the UBC gave for the sale of their building was, “This is an English speaking society [speaking of their church membership] and the residents now living around the church are nearly all or largely German speaking people”. John Saemann was on the Building Committee of the first parsonage. * In this booklet we now see “M.” eliminated from the name. This indicates to me that the reference is made to John Michael’s son, more than likely the eldest, John Saemann. He was always referred to as “John”. His youngest brother, John Michael, my great-grandfather, was referred to as “J. M.” or “Mike”. To differentiate them. One of the memories retold in the booklet was of the picnics that had been held in Brazelton’s Woods, and the Miller Woods, when the young people had horse races and the Batavia Brass Band furnished the music for the picnics. At time of publication, it was stated that Mrs. Jane Pfeiffer, grand-daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Michael Saeman, was the oldest living member of that early pioneer family. She was 87 at the time. The story was told that her mother carried her from their home (where Merton Steuerwald resides, 1950) to the Nickel School (site of the Lafollette School, 1950) where she was baptized. When Mr. Fuchs built the church in 1865, he induced his little daughter Emma to bring his lunch to him each day by having some blocks for her to play with when she arrived with the lunch. In the early days, each family brought a cord of wood for the Church fire. Edward Saeman was one of an early male quartet at the Church. Included is a list of all members on the church rolls for the original Zion Evangelical Church of Batavia, and of the newly merged Zion Evangelical United Brethren Church of Batavia, who have (1950) died. These names include: Pleasant Brazelton Edward Saemann Elizabeth Saemann Emma Saemann (dtr. John & Mary [Rahskopf] Saemann) Johanna Saemann John Saemann Maria Saemann Michael Saemann Lydia Saemann Illian (mar. Daniel Illian) – b. 5 March 1859; d. 7 July 1929. Otelia (Tillie) Saemann Rau (mar. Arthur Rau) – b. 29 Apr 1873; d. 14 Aug 1945. Edward Henry Saemann – b. 14 Sep 1875; d. 26 Feb 1943. [Was he the son of Johannes Saemann or William C. Saemann?] John M. Saemann (b. 11 Mar 1834; d. 11 Jan 1917); mar. Mary Saemann (b. 8 Dec 1837; d. 5 Jan 1916). The church today of the Saemann church in Batavia is now to be reached through the Evangelical United Brethren Church Association.

1870

In the U.S. census of 1870, taken at Town of Scott, Sheboygan County, Wisconsin, John M. and Elizabeth (Baumann) Saemann are listed in the census next to Isaac and Jane (Lemley) Brazelton. In this census, John M. was a 66-year-old farmer, his real estate valued at $2,400 and personal estate valued at $300. John M. was a citizen of the United States. The Saemann family was #116 in the order of visitation, and the Brazelton’s were #117.

DEATH OF THE OLD ONES

Elisabetha (Baumann) Saemann died 9 December 1883 at Batavia, Sheboygan County, Wisconsin, and was buried there.

Johann Michael Saemann died at Batavia, Sheboygan County, Wisconsin, on 1 Jan 1887 and was buried there.

In Memory of John Michael & Elizabeth Saemann: God is good and God is light, In this faith we rest secure, Evil can but serve the right, Over all shall love endure.

Documents regarding John Michael Saemann can be seen:
Last Will and Testament
Sheboygan County biography

CHILDREN OF JOHANN MICHAEL &
ELIZABETH (BAUMANN) SAEMANN

1. Johannes Saemann (John) was born on 11 March 1834 at Gündelbach, Württemberg , Germany. Emigrated to America in 1840. Lived later in Mitchell Township, Sheboygan County, Wisconsin. He died in 1917.
   

   On the June 1905 Sheboygan county census, John Saemann is a farmer, 71 years old. His wife, Mary (born in Canada), is 69. Also in the household are their daughter, Tillie Rau, 32, “servant”. And their son, Edward, 29, “farm laborer”. Both children were born in Wisconsin.
   

   John and Mary had eight children.
   

   1. Noah Saemann; b. 27 Aug 1857; mar. Alma J. Keller.

   2. Lydia L. Saemann, b. 5 Mar 1859; mar. Daniel Illian.
   3. Mary Jane Saemann, b. 9 May 1863; mar. Charles William Pfeiffer, M.D., on 10 Sept 1884. Contact has been made with a Saemann-Pfeifer descendant.
   4. John M. Saemann.
   5. Willie L. Saemann, b. 12 Apr 1867.
   6. Emma E. Saemann, b. 31 Mar 1869.
   7. Otelia Saemann, b. 29 Apr 1973; mar. Arthur Rau.
   8. Edward Saemann, b. 1876.

   
   John & Mary (Rahskopf) Saemann

   
   

   John Saemann bought from John M. Saemann & Wife, on 22 April 1858, the S1/2 of NW 1/4 of Section 13, T13, R20, Scott Township, Sheboygan County, Wis. See letter from researcher, Helen C. Kautzer, dated 29 May 1987. Mrs. Kautzer states that she did not look up all deeds or abstracts, etc.
   
   

2. Christina Sabina Saemann was born on 9 December 1837 at Gündelbach, Germany. Emigrated to America with her family in 1840. “Sabina Saeman” married “Lewis Loebs” on 18 April 1854 at Sheboygan County and they settled in Nebraska. (Sheboygan Co Wis. Register of Deeds, Vol. 1, pg. 65-194.)
   
   
3. Dorothea Friderika Saemann was born on 21 October 1839 at Gündelbach. Emigrated to America with her family in 1840. She died in 1841. Communication of her death got back to her home village in Germany, for the baptismal records have a note to the side that she died in America [“wohl schon in Amerika”].
   
   
4. William C. Saemann was born in 1842 at Columbus, Ohio. William, with his younger brother, studied at Plainview College (now called North Central College) at Naperville, Illinois in 1863-1864. William was a merchant at Plymouth, Sheboygan County, Wisconsin. He married Pauline Gebler on 24 March 1868, at Sheboygan. (Sheboygan Co Register of Deeds, Vol. 5, pg. 10-164.)
   
   
5. JOHN MICHAEL SAEMANN JR. (John M.) was born on 12 May 1844 at Columbus, Franklin Co, Ohio. He married Sarah Catherine Brazelton on 20 December 20, 1866. (Sheboygan Co Register of Deeds, Vol. 5, pg. 11-180.)
   

Move to JOHN M. SAEMANN JR.

PRIMARY REFERENCES

Ohio Historical Society, 1985 Velma Ave., Columbus, OH 43211. Library is open 9A-5P Tuesday through Saturday.

Sheboygan County Courthouse, 615 N. 6th St., Room 106, Sheboygan WI 53081. Ph. 414-459-3023.

Birth, Death, and Marriage Indexes and Records are filed in the Sheboygan County Register of Deeds Office.

Zillier, Carl, ed. History of Sheboygan County Wisconsin (1912) pp. 382-86.

LOCALITY RESOURCES

WEB RESOURCES

Sheboygan County Historical Research Center and Genealogical Society
518 Water Street, Sheboygan Falls, WI 53085. Phone: 920-467-4667. Open Tues-Sat 9AM-4PM.

The County of Sheboygan, Wisconsin Genealogy & History – Rootsweb site, by Debie Blindauer.

Marion Ohio Public Library
445 E. Church St., Marion OH 43302.

Heritage Pursuit – site owner Allen L. Potts. Email: [email protected].
His Marion County, Ohio Home Page.
Germans to Marrion County page.

Ohio Historical Society, 1985 Velma Avenue, Columbus, OH 43211.
Some items in their collection are: Entry books for some Ohio federal land offices are available, but not indexed. Other records are at the Auditor of State’s Office. Quadrennial Census Enumerations for the 19th century. Local government vital statistic records. Ohio newspapers including 3,000 titles, 20,000 volumes, and 40,000 rolls of microfilm. Those newspapers which have been microfilmed may be borrowed through interlibrary loan. A guide entitled Guide to Ohio Newspapers, 1793-1973. The Archives-Library also maintains a number of full and partial newspaper indices; a listing of these is available upon request. And much more.

Map of Scott Township, Sheboygan County, Wisconsin – From Historic Map Works.
Provides address-searchable maps of 19th and early 20th century America.

Wisconsin Ancestors.
This website lists genealogy research available from John Von Haden, a native of Hartford, Wisconsin. His research covers all of Washington and Ozaukee counties, Wisconsin and portions of Milwaukee, Waukesha, Dodge, Sheboygan, Fond du Lac counties. His specialty is researching church records and civil records from Germany, France and Luxemburg.
He has for sale the following documents:
John Saeman, obituary
Mrs. Phillip Saeman, obituary
Mrs. Alma Saeman (Noah), obituary
Blanche Saemann & Carlyle Jewett, marriage
Mrs. Elizabeth Saemann (John M.), obituary
Miss Ella Saemann, obituary
Grace Saemann (Frank H. Redding), obituary of Frank
John M. Saemann (husb. Of Elizabeth), obituary
Julia Saemann (Frank B. Smith), obituary of Frank
Noah Saemann, obituary
William Saemann, obituary

The Genealogy Home Page – site owner Stephen A. Wood.
A variety of resources are available. For new submissions made daily, check the: "What's New in Genealogy" page. Our website was submitted on 20 July 2006.

Footnote.com
Footnote.com is a place where original historical documents are combined with social networking in order to create a truly unique experience involving the stories of our past. Their collection features documents, most never before available on the Internet, relating to the Revolutionary War, Civil War, WWI, WWII, U.S. Presidents, historical newspapers and naturalization documents.

Members can share their content and insights, ranging from major historical events to personal accounts and family histories.

The New York Public Library
. The library has a digital gallery that is worth perusing.

WORK STILL TO DO

Census work:
John M. & Elizabeth (Baumann) Saemann, and children: 1840, 1850; 1860; 1870; 1880.
John Saemann (Mary Rahskopf): 1850; 1860; 1870; 1880; 1900; 1910.
William C. & Pauline (Gebler) Saemann; Plymouth, Sheboygan co Wis., 1870-onward.

Search Naturalization-Citizenship Documents (1840-1848)
Johannes Saemann & Ida (Gärtner) Saemann
John Michael & Elizabetha (Baumann) Saemann
Christoph Friedrich Saemann

Do online message board searches for descendants of John & Mary (Rahskopf) Saemann: Noah (mar. Keller); Lydia L. (mar. Illian); Mary Jane (mar. Pfeiffer); John M.; Willie L.; Otelia (mar. Rau); Edward. Also for descendants of William M. Saemann (e.g., daughter Helen C.).

Search Death-Burial-Probate and obituaries: Franklin (Columbus) and Marion counties OH:
Johannes Saemann (b. 1762); Ida G. Saemann (b. 1773); Christoph Friedrich Saemann (b. 1796).

Search Land 1842-1848:

1. Pleasant Twp, Marion Co OH (15 June 1840)
   
2. Columbus, Franklin Co OH
   
3. Cedar Lake, Washington Co WI (1848)
   
4. Mitchell Twp (Sec. 13 T13 R20), Scott Twp, Sheboygan Co WI (1849-51)
   – John M. Saemann Sr. from Karl Duft – 18 Jan 1868. Grantor/Grantee List pg. 38; Warranty Deed in Vol. 29, pg. 320.
   
5. Erie County (Sandusky county seat)?
   
6. Warren County (Lebanon county seat)
   
   

Search tax lists, directories, obituaries, and biographical sketches in Ohio county histories:
Christoph Friedrich Saemann; William C. Saemann; John M. Saemann.

Back to the Gateway

Official Website of the
Burch, Nickel, Sheldon, Griffin,
Saemann and Brazelton Family
This is the Saemann Family Page

Design and presentation © 2007 Joann Saemann
Some material may be paraphrased
Last Updated – 11 August 2008