Opp Family - Germany to Wisconsin to California

I recently have made contact with distant OPP family relatives that left Wisconsin for California via Missouri in the around 1885.  Most of their descendants still make their home in and around Santa Ana, California area, where our OPP ancestors are buried at the Santa Ana Cemetery.

Find them has been a long journey for me and was so thrilled when one of these cousins sent me some ancestor pictures, of whom one was my Great-great-grandfather, Nicholas Opp.  Up until now, had not seen any pictures of him nor his parents, Peter & Agnes.  This cousin provided me pictures of all three!

Nicholas Opp - my great-great-grandfather

Peter Opp - 3rd great-grandfather (Nicholas's father)

 

Peter left on March, 1857 from Germany with Agnes and their four children: John George, Catharine, John and Nicholas. 

Took boat at Bingen on the Rhine on March 19, 1857.  Disenbarked at Koeln.  Stayed overnight.  Took train next day to Harve, France.  From there took the boat "Owego" from Le Havre, France to USA.  Took the boat to USA.  They traveled across the Atlantic - took 27 days and landed in NY on April 23, 1857 at Ellis Island, then went to Wisconsin.

Owego

Ship List:
Opp, Peter     - age 47
  ",   Agnes     - age 47
  ",   George    - age 19

  " ,  Catherine - age 17
  ",   Johann     - age 12
  ",   Nicolaus  - age 7

 Nicholas later married Johanna Caroline Louise Wirth (1843-1908) on Aug. 8, 1872 in DePere, Brown County, Wisconsin. They had two children: Katherine Agnes Opp (1872-1941) and Lena Opp (1876-1935).  Katherine was my great-grandmother.

Katherine Agnes Opp (1872-1941)

       

Nicholas and Johanna separated ways sometime around the 1880.  The 1880 Oshkosh census records them living in separate households.  Then Nicholas moved to Warrensburg, MO with his parents and Johanna remarried Adolph Baade -staying in Wisconsin with her two daughters.

Nicholas remarried twice again, 1)Wilhelmine "Minnie" Dreyer on Sept. 13, 1881 in Oshkosh, Winnebago County, Wisconsin but then were divorced on June 1882 - and one daughter born in 1882 - Anna Opp. and  2) Mary  M. ? on March 1, 1885 in Warrensburg, Johnson County, Missouri.  She died on July 9, 1897 in Orange County, California.

Nicholas did not remarry again, that I can locate.  He died on July 18, 1923 in West Orange, Orange County, California.

Two OPP family plots at this cemetery.

All in Garden D, Section 16, Lot 2:

Agnes Space 1
Peter Space 2
Harry Space 3
Lovina Space 6
George Sr. Space 7
Anna Space 8
Herman Space 9
George Jr. Space 10
Nick Opp is in Garden K, Section 5, Lot 3, Space 1 but there is no marker.













 

Ball Ground Community & Ball Ground Baptist Cemeteries Update

I recently received photo's for Ball Ground Community and Ball Ground Baptist Church cemeteries located in Ball Ground, Georgia, from another fellow family research, Charles T. Ingram.  I have been busy posting these photo's along with updates on the website: www.findagrave.com as well as my ancestry.com website (if they are related to our family tree).

So, if these cemeteries have family members in your tree, you might want to check out findagrave.com to check them out.

The Mysterious Death of Frederick Auclair - Phlox, Wisconsin - 1906 & Later Life of Katherine Opp Auclair

Frederick William Auclair was my great-grandfather. He immigrated from Elsass-Lothringen , Alsace-Lorraine, Germany in 1888 and settled in Wisconsin.  He married Katherine Agnes Opp on April 19, 1891 in DePere, Brown County, Wisconsin.

He died under very mysterious conditions on July 1st,1906 in Phlox, Wisconsin (see the newspaper clippings that I received during my correspondence with the librarian at the Antigo Public Library in Antigo, Wisconsin):  

Based on the article, it appears that no other investigation into his death was ever done.  So it will never be known if he truly died accidentally or if he was robbed and murdered or murdered as part of a jealous lover triangle?    The reason I note this is due to the next newspaper clipping I found also in the Antigo Public Library:

Katherine, his widow, did re-marry again very shortly to this same Mr. Fred "Fritz" Ladwig on Aug. 16, 1906 - one month after Frederick died.  They had two daughters :Martha & Anita. 

Then, Katherine is no longer living with Fritz Ladwig by 1920.

It appears they might have separated because he lived until 1930. 

Then, Katherine, is remarried a 3rd time sometime between 1913-1920 to Adolph Baade (1868-1929).  I have not yet found a marriage record for them but did find them on the 1920 Wisconsin Census - in Plover, Marathon County, Wisconsin.  

1920 CensusWI - Marathon County - Plover Township

Lists: Baade, Adolph G. - Head - age 55 - born WI
           -      , Katharina A. - Wife - age 47 - born WI

        Auclair, George F. - step son - age 16 - born Wi

            -        , Tressa B. - step daughter - age 14 - born Wi 

        Ladwig - Martha H. - step daughter - age 10 - born Wi
              -    , Anita W. - step daughter - age 7 - born Wi

However, by 1934, she is remarried for the 4th and last time, to a George J. Randl (1874-1954).  They married Nov. 26, 1934 in Antigo, Langlade County, Wisconsin.  When Katherine died in Feb. 15, 1941, her obituary does not mention George, so I'm thinking they might have separated or divorced because George was still living and did not died until Jan. 1954.

 So, I wonder if Katherine ever ended up "happy" in the end.......

New Gravestone for Sarah Townsend Patterson (1817-1896) ( my husband's 3rd gr-grandmother )

A new photo was presented online yesterday at www.findagrave.com for Sarah Townsend Patterson, also known as "Sallie".  She is buried at the Philadelphia Baptist Church Cemetery in Jasper, Pickens County, Georgia.  

 

Obituary

page 3, Col. 5 of Cherokee Advance papers, 1880-1938).  

Mrs. "Hix" Patterson was killed by a train at Talking Rock last Wednesday. She was between 70 and 80 years of age, a faithful wife, a kind devoted mother and a cheerful, christian women. 

 

Additional background on Sarah:

Sarah was married to Hicks Kelly "Hix" Patterson (1816-1904) around 1836 in Cherokee County, Georgia. 

 

They had 10 children:

     1.) Ezekial Dillard Patterson (1839-1862)     m. May 10, 1860  -  Louisa Adeline Morris (1835-1906)

     2.) Thomas Edward Patterson (1842-1878)  m. Jan 15, 1866 - Zenoma Zephroney Taylor (1848-1880)

     3.) Etheldred "Dread" Patterson (1844 - ?)    m. aft. 1881  - Jane Lawson

     4.) Ary Patterson (1849 - ?)   (not known if she married or lived to adulthood)

     5.) Asa David Patterson (1850 - 1935)         m. Mar 18, 1869 - Cynthia Ray (1848-1887)

                                                                         m.  Mar 1889 - Florence Amanda Haney (1875- bef 1910)

                                                                         m.  Abt. 1910 - Amanda Curtis

     6.) Susanna Elizabeth Patterson (twin) (1851 - ?)    m.  Abt. 1863 -  Elias Robert Allred (1845-1898)

*   7.) Anna Patterson (twin) (1851-1937)         m. Jul 24, 1872 - James L. Mann (1852-1891)

     8.) Kimsey Hill Patterson (twin) (1854-1924)   m. 1876 - Sara Elizabeth Spence (1854-1931)

     9.) Nancy Patterson (twin) (1854-1928)  m. Jul 24, 1872 - Thomas J. Compton (1851-1935)

   10.) Amanda Patterson  (1858 - ?)   (not known if she married or lived to adulthood)

   

 * Our ancestor

Beck Family of Rabun County, Georgia - p. 94 of Sketches of Rabun County History Book by Ritchie.

The highlighted in "Yellow" areas of this page note the information regarding connection of Eugene W. Beck with his parent's, Major John Beck and wife, Elizabeth Norris Beck, who had both died prior to this horrible tragedy.

Update on Beck Double Murder Story

The puzzled has been solved on which Beck family of Georgia was connected to this Eugene.

I was able to link up this information after reviewing several articles, including information found on page 96 of "Sketches of Rabun County History 1819-1948 by Andrew Ritchie.  The author noted that the mere mention of Eugene's name recalled the most horrible tragedy that Rabun county has ever known.

He this Eugene W. Beck was the son of of Major John Beck (1819-1873) and Elizabeth S. Norris (1824-1875), from Rabun County, Georgia, and grand-son of Colonel Samuel I Beck (1796-1876) and Tabitha Langston (1796-1856).  He was the only child of John and Elizabeth Beck. 

The two daughters of  Dr. & Mrs. Samuel Bailey, of Forsyth County Georgia, were buried at Cummings Historical Cemetery.  Later, the parent's were buried next to their two daughters.

Eugene Beck was placed on trial and convicted for life at the state penitentiary, where he later died of blood poisoning while working in the coal mines as a convict in May, 1890.  It is not know where he was buried.

Such a tragedy....

1890 - Rabun County wife and sister-in-law murderer is dead

Here is a copy of an old clipping I had found regarding a Eugene Beck from Rabun County, Georgia murdering his wife and sister-in-law while in a drunken stage.

More to come...I have other updates on him and his family connection to the Beck clan of Rabun County, GA.

Agnes Mayer Opp, 3rd great-grandmother

Picture received from Norma Opp Edwards on Feb. 19, 2011

Nicholas Opp - 2nd great grandfather

2nd Great-Grandfather, Nicholas Opp

Picture received from cousin Norma Opp Edwards (dau. of Fred & Elsie Opp) on 2-19-2011.

Heinrich & Katharina (Opp) Scheller gravestone

Photo taken by Larry & Linda Kopet at Scheller Cemetery in Nekimi, Wisconsin.

Henewee Beck Burns Kelly Gravestone

Picture of gravestone taken at Bethesda Cemetery, Nelson, GA. by Richard Pettys