Two of their daughters were Louisa and Mary. Louisa was our great grandmother. Her sister Mary Rausch married Florian Meyer. Last night, Larry found this photo of Mary online, along with a family history from the standpoint of John Meyer, their son. It gives a few more facts than Grandma Lizzy gave to the WPA.
One interesting "fact" given in this account was of how Florian died. According to his son, Florian was at a District 19 school meeting near his home when he was (inexplicably) stabbed "in his side near his heart" and died a week later. (See link above for a different account of what happened that evening).
Florian had been in the USA for only about four years by then. His wife Mary had just turned 40 when he died.
She raised her kids and, fifteen years later, sold the farm in Pierz township and bought 120 acres a mile-and-a-half east of Buckman, which she eventually sold to her son John. She'd been married to Florian for 20 years, and was a widow for 34 more, when she died at John's home in October, 1911.
Florian was buried in Pierz, but Mary was buried in Buckman. Among their children were Charles (Karl), Louise, Martha, Florian, John and William (Billy).
And look: In 1900, John was head-of-household, living with Mary, his mom, and 3 other of his sibs, AND his grandmother, 'Varonica Rausch' (August died in 1885). But look too at the numbers after Mary's name--9 children born to her, and nine still living....then why did her son John say he was the fifth of six children born to Florian and Mary? Hmm!
Yes, I know you want to compare the sisters. Louisa looks to be maybe 40 here, and Mary looks more like 70 or so. According to my family tree they were born on separate continents, 17 years apart.
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