Maus, Zenner and Kapsner connections

When a story or connection fascinates me and/or Larry, I just KNOW it'll tickle you too...cuz after all, you're here, right?  So if your coffee cup is empty right now, go get more--this might take awhile, and I don't want you to miss any of it!

I'll wait.

OK, last summer when I visited St Wendelin's Church cemetery in Luxemburg, Minnesota, I didn't go looking for relatives.  I was there with Shari, and we were looking for her Brauchs and Kraemers, so I was gobsmacked (Hi, Su ☺) when I found Zenners and Jansons there.  I took pictures of those monuments cuz I knew we'd eventually figure out who they were....but there was another, smaller homemade headstone that intrigued me, even if it was for someone I didn't know:  

 "HERE RESTS MARGARET MAUS  A Life Short But Precious"

That evening, Larry figured out who her parents were via census and Find a Grave records.  She was most likely the daughter of Henry and Margaret Maus.  That's all we knew, then. 

But the name Maus was familiar from Buckman, too, so it sorta stayed in my mind.  This last week, I found an obit for her brother, who died in 2010 at 81.  He was preceded in death by his parents, three adult sibs and "an infant sister, Margaret".  The obit also mentions their mother's maiden name--Kapsner. Hmm!

So, I went to Find a Grave looking for a Kaspner-Maus connection, and found this:

1864-1926

Buckman Lady Called to Rest

Mrs. Anna Zenner, aged 61 years, died at her home at Buckman at 5 o'clock P.M. Sunday, March 28. The deceased has been ailing for the past two years and diabetes has been given as the cause of her death.

Mrs. Anna Zenner, whose maiden name was Anna Maus, was born in Luxemburg, this state, on October 30, 1864. Until of age she was at the home of her parents at Luxemburg. Her marriage [to Mathias Zenner] took place at St. Wendel church at Luxemburg, November 28, 1882. From Luxemburg the Zenner family moved to Buckman, where they resided on a farm 2 miles south of that village until this day.

Mrs. Zenner was the mother of 13 children, 2 of which preceded her in death. The surviving are Mrs. John Dehler, Mrs. Frank Kapsner, John Zenner, Mrs. Ben Terhaar, of Buckman, Sr. Hildegard and Rosaria, of St. Paul, Sr. Julienne, St. Joseph, and Elizabeth, Aloyouis, Kilian and Leo at home. Four brothers and four sisters also mourn her death. They are John A. Maus of Watkins, Nick, Mrs. John Schillo and Mrs. A. G. Wistler of Golva, N.D., Miss Mary Maus of Minneapolis, Peter of Buckman, Henry of Luxemburg and Mrs. Elizabeth Koshial of St. Augusta.

Burial service were held in St. Michael's church at Buckman yesterday morning at 10 o'clock and the remains were interred in the Buckman cemetery. The funeral was one of the largest ever in the village of Buckman. Present at the funeral from out-of-town were….

Pierz Journal, April 1, 1926

SO, the Zenner graves I found in the Luxemburg cemetery...who were they?

There are other Zenner graves in Luxemburg, but Stephen and Margaretha here are the oldest one.
They were Mathias Zenner's parents, so Anna's in-laws.

Are ya still with me?  Good ☺!

So Anna Zenner's brother AND daughter married Kapsners.  Here's a photo from the Pictorial Atlas of Morrison County, Minnesota of the John Kapsner family--looks like the 1920s.

According to the 1895 and 1910 censuses, John and Marie Kapsner had 12 kids:  Cecilia, Frank, Mary, Edward, Charles, Joseph, Agnes, August, Conrad, Leonard, Leo and "Itelda", but they're probably not standing in order.

John Kapsner and Anna Zenner would have been contemporaries.  John's son Frank married Anna's daughter....and John's daughter Margaret married Henry Maus, and moved to Luxemburg.  At least, that's my version.  If you know different, email or comment and I'll change it.  

SO, the short and precious life of Margaret Maus was special to us, too.  Her little monument got me to figure out the connections between all these people.  Wow!

Two more quick facts, ok?

 Henry Maus' aunt Mary Maus was married to Michael Majerus, the man who magnanimously provided the St Michael statue in St Michael's church in Buckman. (Say that fast, out loud ☺).

And, no, this Cecilia Kapsner was born in 1883, so she couldn't have been mom's spelling rival in school.  I'd guess that one of those boys had a daughter he named Cecilia who could eventually spell almost as well as Linda Janson.