OUR SAEMANN FAMILY

Generation 5
FRANKLIN ISAAC SAEMANN (m. Laura Charlotte Nickel)

Generation 6

FRANKLIN ISAAC SAEMANN
Generation 5

FRANKLIN ISAAC SAEMANN was born at Batavia, Sheboygan County, Wisconsin, on 4 March 1869. During his youth, his father had the family in Iowa, evidently on a farm, probably near Waterloo in Blackhawk county. His father also was doing a “commission business”.

By 1875, when Franklin would be six years old, the family was at New Cassel, Fond du Lac county. This is probably the location where his dad started the town of Campbellsport, on the line of the Northwestern railroad. Their son William Michael was born at Campbellsport in August of 1875.

Franklin would have been seventeen when his father started the Sheboygan interurban railway in 1886. It is possible that the below photograph was taken at about that time. I would guess he was about 17-18 when this photo was taken. The photo on the right is a crop of the one on the left.

ENTREPRENEUR

Young Franklin became knowledgeable in many fields and became an entrepreneur. His father was a mover-and-shaker of some note in the Sheboygan locality, and Franklin certainly inherited tendencies and proclivities that contributed to his makeup. He learned from his father as well, for his dad included him in his Sheboygan street railway businesses either as treasurer for about over a period of years (18xx-18xx). In addition to learning the streetcar business, more importantly for his future, he was learning to be a businessman in all its various facets.

It is interesting to contemplate how Franklin got from the railway business to making artificial legs and arms. Nothing that I remember was ever said about this subject. We can see in the newspaper articles I have so far collected, that Sheboygan

He married on 3 May 1903, at Blandinsville, Illinois, LAURA CHARLOTTE NICKEL. She was born on 4 September 1880, at Oberlin, Decatur County, Kansas, the daughter of John A.F. and Hannah (Burch) Nickel.

Go to the NICKEL FAMILY [Ready 2009]

THE GIRL

Laura had graduated from Smith Center High School in 1895.

COMMENCEMENT, 1898 Smith Center always takes an interest in her High School commencement exercises and never more so than on last Friday evening, when the class of 1898 held their graduation exercises. The afternoon was a rainy one and in the evening there was a regular downpour of rain. Notwithstanding this drawback, the opera house was well filled before the exercises commenced. To the music of the orchcestra the curtain was raised, disclosing the mass of six young ladies and one young man in a semi-circle at one side of the stage; the school board, Principal Abell and speakers similarly arranged upon the other side. An invocation was offered by Rev. E. H. Fleisher, after which the program was carried out as follows: Song – “Commencement Day” by Barbara Neiswanger, Myrtle Jarvis and Sada Williamson. Salutatory – “The Watchword of Success” was rendered by Miss Myrtle Jarvis in a manner that showed care in preparation and a thorough study of the subject. Essay – “A Nation’s Heroes” by Luella M. Roabaugh was read in a clear and well modulated tone of voice. It mentioned the names of those whose names have found a permanent place in the pages of national history. The piano duet, “Sleigh Ride Gallop,” by Misses Florence Barger and Agnes Relihan drew rounds of applause and an encore. “Hitch Your Wagon to a Star, But Have the End Gate In,” an oration by Nate Sikmpson, notwithstanding the impossibility suggested by the title, contained very many good ideas and safe advice. Nate is to be congratulated upon the success of his oration. “The oration, “Tendencies of the Times,” by Barbara E. Neiswanger was good and reflected much credit on the orator. J. D. Barnes rendered a violin solo which was well received and received an encore. Sada E. Williamson’s essay entitled “Educational Warefare,” was a well prepared paper and read in a clear, confident tone of voice. The class poem and oration, “The Student’s Career,” by Laura C. Nickel was beyond doubt the best prepared of all the original productions. We take the liberty of publishing Miss Nickel’s poem and oration in another place, believing it worthy to be placed before all our readers. The valedictory, “Our Exodus,” by Kate M. Slagle was good. The subject was handled in a manner that at once showed care in preparation. Although Miss Katie’s voice was clear and distinct the noise made by the rain, which at that time was falling in torrent spoiled the full effect of the address. Miss Susie Boyle then sang a solo, which was so well received that the audience would not be satisfied until again favored with another solo. Elder A. L. Drummond in his class address far exceeded the expectations of his friends. There was just enough wit in it to make the address spicy and call for the closest attention from the audience. Then came the presentation of diplomas by the president of the board, A. Montgomery, which was followed by music by the orchestra and the exercises were over. As we said in the beginning the whole town seemed interested in the commencement day exercises, we close by saying it was a success in every way. The decorations were all appropriate, from the class motto at the rear of the stage, “Know, to Do” to the flags and bunting on the walls and ceiling of the hall. There were flowers in abundance and each member of the class received handsome bouquets from admiring friends and parents. There was nothing to be criticized in the management or program, everything went along smoothly and without a hitch. The school board and others having the program in charge are entitled to much credit.

She had three younger sisters. There is a photograph of Laura, her sisters, and her father, taken in 1898 at Woodward, Oklahoma, but it remains unknown if Laura ever lived there with her father; she may have been visiting at the time the photo was taken.

1900

It is unknown when exactly Laura moved to Blandinsville, but she was there in the 1900 census, in the home of her Aunt Ida Pond.

1900 U.S. Illinois Census, Blandinsville, McDonough County, 15 June 1900.
Alvin B. Pond
Ida Pond
Blanche Pond
Charles Pond
(Rills?) [unreadable]
Robert Pond
Laura Nickel, 19, born Kansas; father b. Tennessee [sic: Iowa]; mother b. Wisconsin.

Laura’s grandfather was Emerson Griffin. His widow (his 2nd wife), Margaret, still lived in Blandinsville. She had born Emerson three daughters, two of whom were married. Laura lived in the home of one of her step-aunts, Ida, and her husband, Alvin Pond, along with their children.

Laura was a teacher in the Blandinsville elementary school for at least one year, probably more. Click here to view the photos.

She had a lot of friends, not only in Blandinsville, but also in neighboring villages and counties, e.g., Warsaw, Illinois, on the Mississippi River; etc. Laura’s scrapbook has dozens of calling cards in it, invitations to parties, hayrides, picnics, wedding showers, etc., from her many friends all around.

At least for a few years, Laura taught school at the Blandinsville elementary school. The below pictures were taken with her class, probably around 1900-1902. I have her school bell which you can see in the picture and hear with the wav file attached here.

BOY MEETS GIRL

The family story always told was that, one day Laura was on a train either going to visit her sister in Chicago, who was in nursing school there, or on her way back to Blandinsville, when she saw this handsome gent in the car. She dropped her hanky – how Victorian is that?! – and he picked it up, returned it to her, and from there, the relationship grew. Now – how much of that is fact or fiction, is unknown. I never got the chance to ask my grandmother about the meeting.

A little diary, hardly written in, has always been with, together with the hanky referred to above. I have them in my possession and include photos of them here.

COURTSHIP

There doesn’t seem to be much information available about the engagement and courtship of Laura and Franklin. He was a businessman, of stolid German stock. It’s hard to say what I’m thinking about the quality of their courtship. Let me put it this way: their honeymoon was spent going to New Orleans for a trade convention!! Does that spark your imagination?

It is known that one of Laura’s sisters, xxx, studied nursing in Chicago, and that a few trips were made by Laura to Chicago to visit her sister. While there, she surely got together with Frank for dates or what not.

1903
MARRIAGE

Unfortunately there is not one known photograph of Laura is her wedding dress. However, through her little scrapbook, we do have a summary of all of the fabric, laces, trims, snaps, hooks, buttons, that were used to make her wedding gown. We also have photographs of other family brides wearing the gown. But not Laura. The gown is torn and tearing, falling apart year by year. The silk is so very fine. With hundreds of very small permanent pleats, many of the pressed edges are severed. The dress has a very small waist measurement. It is difficult to imagine, even looking at young pictures of Laura, that she could have fit into the dress. My mother, who also wore the dress, was a very small person, never reaching more than 5 feet 2 inches in height, and at her youngest adult, probably no more than 120 pounds in size. Laura, on the other hand, always appeared to be somewhat “chubby”. And yet, this dress was worn by her.

NICKEL – SAEMANN Marriage of Sheboygan Young Man in Illinois Mr. and Mrs. Alvin Bateman Pond of Blandinsville, Illinois, announce the marriage of their niece Miss Laura Charlotte Nickel to Franklin Isaac Saemann, one of Mr. and Mrs. John M. Saemann of this city, who after his resignation as general manager of the local street company went to Chicago to engage in a profitable business of his own, consisting of the manufacture of a splint that has received the unqualified endorsement of physicians and surgeons throughout the country. The ceremony will take place at Blandinsville at 11 o’clock of the morning of May 2. After an extensive honeymoon trip the young people will make their home at 620 Walnut street, Chicago*. WEDDING BELLS Saemann-Nickel Married at high noon in this city, Saturday, May 2, 1903, at the residence of Mr. and Mrs. Alvin Bateman Pond, their niece, Miss Laura Charlotte Nickel, also of this city, and Mr. Franklin Isaac Saemann of Chicago, Elder C. S. Townley officiating. Of those to witness the ceremony were Messrs. George Shurtleff, Howard Williamson and Misses Minnie Weyhrich and Blanche Pond of Galesburg; Messrs. Charles Crawford, George Perrin and Miss Garretson, of Warsaw; Messrs. Leland and Floyd Mustain, Mesdames Theo. Mustain, Dell Pond and Misses Hazel Pond and Jennie Nickel of Macomb; Mr. J. S. Griffin of Houghton, Mich.; Mr. and Mrs. W. A. Grigsby, Dr. and Mrs. D. F. Beacom, Mr. and Mrs. George Griggs, Mr. and Mrs. M. Welsh, Mrs. C. S. Townley, Mr. H. E. Shryack, Misses Tennie Grills and Laura Griffin of Blandinsville. After the ceremony and congratulations the guests repaired to the dining room where was a spread of the substantials and delicacies of the season in the preparation of which, Mrs. Pond has a most enviable reputation. The groom is a business man of Chicago, being president of the Ambulatory Pneumatic Splint Co., and while a comparative stranger to most of our people, is highly recommended as an honorable, upright man and bears the impress of the true gentleman. The bride has for several years made her home in this city, is an accomplished young lady, has been a teacher in our public schools and enjoys to the fullest extent that which she so richly deserves, the love and esteem of our people. The newly wedded ones seem most eminently fitted for life’s companionship, and as time passes may the vows of youth become dearer, may they become more sacred; may they learn mutual reliance; may they console in each other’s sorrows, and in their joy of either may they both rejoice. The remembrances, the momentoes of the occasion showed taste – were of such as are alike useful and ornamental, were most appropriate for the occasion and such as in after years will bring only the most pleasant recollections of the auspicious and solemn event of May 2, 1903. That as time passes, higher and holier remembrances may gather around these, and that there may be but clouds enough to make the sunshine brighter – for there must be clouds in the life of all – is the sincere, the heartfelt wish of their host of friends. At 3:38 p.m., the couple departed for New Orleans and other southern points and after July 1, will be “at home” at 620 Walnut Street, Chicago*. * 620 Walnut Street in Chicago, is 1 block N of Lake Street, and about 1-1/2 blocks E of the Kennedy Expressway (U.S. 90/94) Exit 51B.

The picture below may have been taken near the time of Franklin and Laura’s marriage, when he was 34 years old.

My mother always said that she thought these pictures – both the one of Franklin above, and these below – were taken at the time of the 1903 wedding. Laura, here, appears slightly older than the photograph we saw above. The center photo is a crop of the one on the left. The neck “collar” in these pictures seems to be the same; so the photos may have been done at the same sitting, with the addition of the hat. However, the hairline appears slightly different – which could be the result of the hat slightly distorting the hair.

Here’s another picture that may have been taken during the courtship period. It is unidentified, and the location is unidentified. However, upon close examination it is certain that the fellow sitting on the porch is none other than our F. I. Saemann Sr. and I believe the girl standing at the post near him is Laura. I believe the family members seen here are her Aunt Ida Pond and family. But this is uncertain. And if it is them, it would be in Blandinsville, Macomb County, Illinois.

STARTING A FAMILY

When Laura and Franklin were first married, they lived on 528 N. Ridgeland Avenue in Oak Park, Illinois. According to the Oak Park Village Directory, they were at this address xxx.

According to the property records of Oak Park, they bought their house at 429 Forest Avenue, on xxx. This house is located directly across the street from the Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio. At the time, Frank Lloyd Wright was still married and living and working at this studio.

Frank Lloyd Wright Home & Studio 951 Chicago Avenue, page of the OPRF.com website
The Official Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust Website, Home Page

Frank Lloyd Wright was living in his Forest Avenue house and studio when Laura and Franklin moved into their new house at 429 Forest Avenue. Whether they had occasion to meet Frank Lloyd Wright has never been known to me. When my mother was born in 1913, Frank Lloyd Wright was already out of this house. In fact, it was in 1909 that he closed his Oak Park studio and left for Europe with the wife of one of his clients. He left his wife and six children behind. Upon his return in 1911, he moved to Wisconsin, and soon returned to Oak Park to remodelled the OP studio to serve as living space for his estranged family. He converted the home into rental units...In 1925 he made further modifications to the property and sold it. For next 20 years sev owners and tenants occupied the building. In 1946 Nooker bought the property and 10 years later (1956) hired Wright to remodel part of it. In 1972 Mrs. Nooker puts the building up for sale; at that time divided into six apartment units.

A TRIP TO NIAGARA FALLS?

This next group consists of the main photograph, and three crops of it. Most of the picture is scenery, perhaps Niagara Falls, New York. I’ve never heard of Laura and Franklin taking a vacation to Niagara Falls. But then, again, their honeymoon was a business trip to New Orleans. Perhaps they went to New York for a convention and visited the Falls. On the other hand, the scenery almost seems like a fake backdrop. So I decided to crop the picture for a close-up. You decide.

HOMELIFE

The first two children, Elizabeth and Franklin Jr., came along in 1904 and 1906. The photograph, below, shows Franklin with his two first-born children. I think this photo was taken between 1910-1912, when Elizabeth would have been 6-8 and Frank Jr. About 4-6 years of age.

1920

In the 1920 U.S. Federal Census – Oak Park Township, Oak Park, Village, Cook Co Ill., 429 Forest Ave.
Enumerated on 2 January 1920
Franklin Saemann, – 50, born Wis.; Father: Indiana; Mother: Wisconsin; manufacturer Surgical (? ? unreadable).
Laura – 39, born Kansas; Father: Iowa; Mother: Wisconsin.
Elizabeth – 15, born Illinois; Father: Wisconsin; Mother: Kansas.
Franklin – 18, son; ditto.
Charlotte – 9-9/12, daughter; ditto.
Joan – 6-6/12, daughter; ditto.
John – 4-1/12, son; ditto.
Lilian Komer – 20, servant; born Illinois; parents born Illinois.

The youngest child, Robin, was born 18 days after this census was taken, so his name doesn’t appear.

The photograph, below, is of Laura with her four youngest children: Charlotte, Joann, John, and Robin. Robin appears to be about 1-1/2 to 2 years old, so I suspect the photo was taken around 1922-1923.

This next photo was probably taken about 1923 as my mother, on her mom’s knee, appears to be about ten here.

1930

The 1930 U.S. Federal Census – Oak Park Village, Cook Co, Ill., 429 Forest Ave.
Enumerated on 7 April 1930
Franklin Saemann – 59, born Wis.; Father: Ohio; Mother: Wisconsin; manufacturer Doctor’s Supplies; Own Home, Value $25,000; age at marriage: 33.
Lora – 46 [actually 49], wife; born Kansas; Father: Iowa; Mother: Wisconsin; age at marriage: 20.
Elizabeth – 24, daughter; born, Illinois; Father: Wisconsin; Mother: Kansas.
Franklin – 23, son; ditto.
Charlotte – 20, daughter; ditto.
Joan – 16, daughter; ditto.
John – 14, son; ditto.
Robert – 10, son; ditto.
Eliza Ellis – 25, Maid; Negro; born, S. Carolina; parents born S. Carolina.

SUMMERS

Laura and F. I. bought property in Porter County, Indiana, at Chesterton. It was actually a small farm. We always called it “Grandma’s farm”, and it does appear that the purchase of the farm was in Laura's name. Nevertheless, the family had great times at the time over the years. It was never used as a farm except when my father and mother lived there for two years just prior to World War II.

Laura N. Saemann bought the farm by Warranty Deed #9989 on June 25th, 1926 from Robert F. and Elizabeth Leaver. It was a 30-acre piece and for that she paid $6000. The legal description was W1/2 E1/2 E1/2 of Fractional Sec. 31, T37N R5W, lying N of the Indian Boundary Line, Porter Co IN. The deed was recorded 23 Jul 1926, Book 90, pg. 234, of Porter County, Indiana. A xerox copy of typescript record is in my files.

Laura N. Saeman, a widow, of Cool County, Illinois, sold her farm on September 22, 1945, to Ivo W. and Ida L. Roush. Warranty Deed #78195. Sales price $15,200. The legal description at this time was SE1/4 Sec. 2, T32N R5W, Porter Co IN. The deed was referred to as “the annexed deed”, and was recorded on 6 Oct 1945, Book 129, pg. 567, Porter County, Indiana.

The legal description of the land at sale doesn’t seem to be the same property as that described when she bought the farm in 1926. However, because it had been annexed, perhaps the legal description had changed. As a member of the family, I never heard that Laura Nickel Saemann owned any other land than “Grandma’s farm”. This bears further research, if interested.

THE KIDS GROW UP

EVERY FAMILY HAS PROBLEMS

THE GRAND KIDS

As an older man, there was one photograph taken of F. I. Saemann Sr. which appears to have been done up both as a normal photograph, but also in the “carte de visite” style. We really don’t have too many pictures of him, so I’m very glad we have this one.

DEATH

Franklin Isaac Saemann died on 20 April 1938 at Oak Park, Cook County, Illinois. His remains were taken to Sheboygan, Wisconsin, where he was buried next to his father in the family’s section at Wildwood Cemetery.

GRANDMA IN LATER LIFE

After F. I. died, Laura remained in the Forest Avenue house for several years. All of her grandchildren have memories, more or less depending on our ages, of the big house. I was only six when Grandma died, so my memories are very limited. In fact, I have only one memory of the house, and that memory probably originated with seeing the house on many occasions while driving past it and being told that it had been the house my mother grew up in.

The house stood right up against the side-walk. From a small room on that side of the house, about midway front to back, there was a door and stair leading from that room to a small grassy spot, about six feet by ten. This spot stood about four feet off the ground, and at that point, there was a brick wall, with no access to the sidewalk. No one would use it, and I always thought it curious. At some previous time, there must have been access to the walkway or street, and when the house was built, there probably was no cement sidewalk there. No one, to my knowledge, ever went down those steps and sat or relaxed on that grass. Who mowed it? No retaining fence to keep anyone from falling off to the sidewalk below. Very strange.

Much later, in 1996, on my mother’s last visit to our home-town, we parked the car and made a tour through the Frank Lloyd Wright house across the street. Afterwards, my mother wanted to knock on the door of her childhood home. A young woman answered the door, the daughter of the current owner. Mom being as personable as she was, we were allowed to come in to the house and view some of the rooms. We had always known that the big house had been divided up into six apartments. I’m not sure if that is still the case, but she explained to us that her father had one part of the house here, someone else had part of the house there, and those areas were unavailable to us. We were able to see the dining room, and the kitchen, and pantry area. Upstairs, we saw what used to be Laura’s suite, which consisted of a bedroom and bath, possibly a dressing room. I can’t remember. Mom told me that her mother had a marble shower area. My grandfather’s room, at the front of the second floor, was an apartment.

OUR MEMORIES OF GRANDMA

I have only two memories of my grandmother that aren’t related to illness. Perhaps my earliest memory was of sitting on her lap, and being fascinated with her “buddins”. Her buddins (buttons) went from the top of her dress down to the hem; there must have been fifty of them. She wore those old-lady faile dresses with fabric-covered buttons. “Buddins” is the one baby word of mine which was recounted to me as I grew up.

At one point, I’m not sure of the year, she lived with my family in Oak Park. She was put in my room, during which time I shared my sister’s room with her. I remember Grandma being in my bed. She would wake early, and go downstairs to the living room. She’d take a chair to the floor-model radio and record-player we had in there. Sometimes I would go downstairs and find her sitting sideways in front of the radio with her ear to it, the volume down very low.

Grandma had developed a few disabilities that plagued her the rest of her life. She had Bright’s Disease. Diabetes was the one I remember the most. I remember one time Grandma was sitting on a dining room chair. I , approached her from the living room, and stepping around the chair to her side, I saw her giving herself her insulin shot in her stomach. To a five-year-old, this was very scary, and I think the memory of that always affected me and precluded any possibility of my becoming a nurse down the road.

Toward the end of her life, Grandma bought some property in Phoenix, Arizona. We have a few photographs of her in Arizona, sitting in a wheelchair, with pure white hair. She had a nurse there. And that is where she died, in 1949.

I don’t know if it was to take Grandma’s household effects to Arizona or if it was after she died, bring her things back to Oak Park, but Our parents

Laura (Nickel) Saemann died on 10 May 1949 at Phoenix, Arizona. She is buried in Illinois.

Many years later, after my mother had turned 70 years old, her elder sister, Charlotte, wrote Mom a letter and said this about their parents:

CHILDREN

1. Jenny Elizabeth Saemann was born 8 June 1904. She married briefly a White Russian. No children. She was a teacher in New York City and had many, many stories to tell. She was one of my favorite aunts. She died on 24 September 1982 at Warsaw, Indiana and is buried there, at the Oakwood Cemetery.

   
   
   

2. Franklin Isaac Saemann was born on 21 July 1906. Known popularly as F. I. Saemann, he became an industrialist. The property of one of his companies, the OEC Facility at West Quad Ave. & South Ecker Ave., in Bourbon, Indiana is an “Indiana Superfund Site”. He married Irene List. He died in 1987, and is buried in Warsaw, Indiana. I always loved Uncle Bunny but he was a little bit scary to me. I felt much more comfortable with him when he allowed me to go to Germany and work at his company there. This will be the subject of an entire page in future months.

   
   
   
   
   

3. Charlotte Laura Saemann was born on 23 March 1910. She married Alfredo Kniazzeh. They had a son and a daughter, both still living. Charlotte died in Florida, and is buried in Chesterton, Indiana. Aunt Charlotte was the genealogist of her family. In 1987, she handled me the "baton", so to speak, at which point I carried on her work. There are many wonderful things in the genealogy that I discovered after she was unable to handle the information. She would have been so happy to know. Much of this information has yet to be presented here as the data has to do with the Nickel family.
   
   
4. JOANN SAEMANN was born on 25 June 1913. She married Bryan Henry River.
   
   
5. John Sheldon Saemann was born on 26 November 1915. He married Frances Magoon. They had a son named John Saemann; their daughter is still living. They are buried in Warsaw, Indiana.
   
   
6. Robin Griffin Saemann was born on 20 January 1920. He married ShaKay Berberian. They had three sons, all still living. Robin died at the very young age of 39. He is buried in Los Angeles, California.
   
   

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PRIMARY REFERENCES

LOCALITY RESOURCES

Sheboygan County Historical Society, 3110 Erie Ave., Sheboygan, WI 53081.

Sheboygan County Register of Deeds, 508 New York Ave., Sheboygan, WI 53081 (Birth & Death Certificates, Marriage Records).

Sheboygan County Clerk’s Office, Room 129, 615 N 6th St., Sheboygan, WI 53081.

SECONDARY RESOURCES

WEB RESOURCES

Poor’s directory of railway officials, 1887: containing lists of the officers of all railways in North America, etc. (New York, NY: Poor’s Railroad Manual, c1887) pg. 274. At SLC FHL Call Number 970 E4ro.

Briggs, Martha T. Briggs and Cynthia H. Peters. Pullman Company Archives: Contracts and Agreements, 1882-1970 (Chicago: The Newberry Library, 1995) Box 44, Series 06, Contract under date 1888.

Home Page – 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.

Home Page – Wisconsin Ancestors.

WORK STILL TO DO

20 July 2006 – Submit to the http://www.genhomepage.com/really_new.html>What’s New in Genealogy Homepages, Website.

Check out art by Vereshchagin Russia Battle of Borodino

Get Census for LNS: 1880; 1910; 1940.

Get Census for FIS: 1870; 1880; 1900; 1910; 1920.

OUR SAEMANN ANCESTORS AND RELATIVES

Obituary. Helen C. Sutton, 74, of 615 Mott St., died Tuesday at her residence of an apparent heart attack. She was born in Sheboygan, Wis. on Nov. 15, 1907 to William [C.] and Mary T. (Reidel) Saemann. On June 8, 1931 in Oak Park, Ill., she married John Richard “Dick” Sutton, who died in Oct. 1975. She had moved to Kendallville 51 years ago from Michigan City (where her husband was born) and was a member of the Christian Science Society, Kendallville Public Library Board and had been a substitute teacher in the local schools. Surviving are a daughter, Kathryn M. Meibers of Rome City; 2 sons, John R. Jr. of Blue Springs, Md., and Gary H. of Wichita Falls, Tex.; and 7 grandchildren. Died 7-20-1982.
Source: Obituary Index
Background: Helen C. Saemann was a 1st cousin of Franklin Isaac Saemann. Her father (William C. Saemann) and F. I. Saemann’s father (John M. Saemann) were close brothers. What interests me here is that she was in Oak Park, Illinois, in June of 1931. She was my mother’s 1st cousin once removed, and was five years older than my mother. I wonder if she was in Oak Park living in the home with her cousin’s family (my mom's family). Or, were her parents in Chicago? Was her father the “motorman” in the Chicago census? Her date of marriage, in Oak Park, was the birthday of my mother’s elder sister, Elizabeth. Was the wedding held at the Saemann home (quite a large and lovely home for the time). More research needs to be done here, and descendant search through online sources.

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Official Website of the
Burch, Nickel, Sheldon, Griffin,
Saemann and Brazelton Family
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Joann Saemann
West Jordan, Utah

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Last Updated – 11 August 2008