INTRODUCTION

The GERMANS TO MARION COUNTY, OHIO, AND THEIR ANCESTORS project started with the research of my wife's German ancestors. It became apparent during this research of Marion County that one source containing the names of all known first-generation German immigrants would be helpful. This became more important as my research continued, because many families were related and had come from the same villages or regions of present day Germany, France, Switzerland and Austria.

The qualification for an immigrant to be included in this work is that the immigrant came from a German speaking region of Europe between 1823 and 1900 and lived in Marion County for a period of time. There are many families of German descent who came to Marion County who are second, third or later generation Americans who had moved from the eastern states. I have not attempted to research these families and they do not appear in this work. It is very likely that these families are also related to the immigrants contained in this work, which relationship attracted them to Marion County. Another attraction to the county was cheap land. However, during the 19th Century, it can be seen that extended family members and other non-related families continued to immigrate to Marion County from the same villages and regions of Europe.

The purpose of this work is to provide future researchers with a comprehensive source which can be used to start their own family adventure. The information contained in Section I was obtained from a careful review of all known sources available about Marion County, Ohio. (See the attached source list for names of these source materials.)

The ancestors of these when discovered are included in another section of the Heritage Pursuit Web Site.

When it came to the spelling of names, it became problematic as to what should be considered the correct spelling or the spelling preferred by the researcher. The spelling or a name often changed with the change of the record keeper or the legibility of his handwriting. The Germany language also can cause problems because of the interchangeable use of letters such as B & P; T & D; V & F; and K & C. The usage of the German language has also changed over the centuries covered by this research. The spelling could have been changed when the family arrived in Marion County. These changes ranged from the simple anglicization of the name, to a name that would have the same meaning in English as it did in German, or just a meaningless change. Where these changes have been verified by the researcher, the list will give the Marion County version of the name followed by the most common German spelling. For example: Bricker see Brugger. When known, the individuals will be listed under the German spelling. In some cases. the spelling used was simply the researcher's best effort.

The list contains the name of immigrant, date of birth, place of birth, parents names, spoues name, date of marriage and place of marriage. To appear in this source, an immigrant would have had most likely been listed on a naturalization record, census record, property deed, or in other historic document. (Many of these immigrants spent only a few months in Marion County and then moved on to other locations.) The other sources listed and may not be complete or totally accurate.

In the case of birth dates, it was not unusual that the parish records differed from the information found in Marion County. Parish dates were used in this work. The immigration dates were determined by either of the following sources: naturalization records, historical sources, parish records, or the researcher's estimate based on the U.S. Census. The township of residence was determined from Marion County sources or the U.S. Census, and was the best estimate of the longest period of residence. Many of these families moved from township to township over their years of residence in the county.

The name of a spouse will in most cases be the first marriage or the mother/father of all or most of their children. Information on additional marriages can only be found from the list if the spouse was an immigrant and the name is known to the researcher. Other spouses names may be obtained from the listing of their children, if the children were immigrants. The exception to this rule would be for those wives whose maiden name is not known. If they were immigrants themselves they will appear similar to the following: Mrs (Hecker, Mrs Margaretha). Husbands will be listed in the spouse column.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS:

The Family History Library, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah for the free use of the library and its resources, especially the staff of the International Section for their invaluable assistance and encouragement.

The Ohio State Historical Library, Columbus, Ohio for the free use of their resources,

especially the access to the Ohio Death Certificates 1908 to 1943.

The Marion City Library, Marion, Ohio for the use of the Ohio Room.

The Marion County Historical Society

The Marion Area Genealogical Society.

THE RESEARCHER:

Allen L. Potts is a retired banker by profession, but a genealogist at heart. He has spent the past forty years doing local history and genealogical research as a hobby. The first exposure to historical research was an effort by Mrs. Josephine Wenig to write a history of Meeker, Ohio. Allen worked with her in collecting information for this effort during the time that he was

attending Meeker High School. Mrs. Wenig, a Meeker High school teacher, was killed in an auto accident prior to completing this work. Her research was distributed in later years through a local effort. During his growing up years he was always interested in local history and genealogy. This interest lead to his spending many hours with the older residents of the Meeker Area listening to the stories they told about their childhood as well as stories they retold about their families. In the 1950's he also compiled a list of burials in the Meeker and Union Cemeteries. The work was then extended to obtaining obituaries, marriage dates and other information of those buried in these two cemeteries.

Over the years he has compiled the following works:

The Family of Hugh V. Smith and Sarah Yazel

The Family of Christopher Weist and Magdalena Schrote

Marion County, Ohio Ellmendingen, Baden Connected Families

Marion County Connected Families (two volumes).

These works were never published but were copied, bound, and then donated to The Family History Library in Salt Lake City, The Marion City Library (Ohio Room), The Ohio Historical Society in Columbus, and to interested individuals.

The Germans to Marion County project has taken most of the past three years to compile. It is hoped that future generations will find this and other works mentioned above a useful source of information to assist them in their own research. The researcher donated the above information with the hopes that these books would not be lost, but would be available to all those interested in this information.

ABBREVIATION

BG Bowling Green Tp

BI Big Island Tp

Ca Caledonia

Cl Claridon Tp

DC DeCliff

Ga Galion

GC Green Camp Tp

GP Grand Prairie Tp

Gr Grand Tp

IMM immigration

LR LaRue

Ma Marion

Marr Marriage

MC Marion City

Mo Montgomery Tp

MT Marion Tp

MV Marion Village

NB New Bloomington

PI Pleasant Tp

Pr Prospect Tp

PrV Prospect Village

PV Prospect Village

Ri Richland Tp

Sc Scott Tp

TP township

Tu Tully Tp

Wa Waldo Tp WaV Waldo Village

SOURCES SECTION

United States Census 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, and 1900

Marion County, Ohio Probate Court Deaths 1868 to 1908

Marion County, Ohio Probate Court Marriages 1823 to 1915

Marion County, Ohio Common Pleas Court - Naturalization 1823 to 1901

The History of Marion County, Ohio, by Leggett, Conaway & Co., 1883

The History of Marion County, Ohio, by Wilbur Jacoby, 1907

Marion County, Ohio 1979 by Marion County Historical Society, 1979

Soldiers of Marion County, Ohio by David L. Hartline - 1776 to 1900

Marion County Family Genealogies - Territorial Days to the Present by Marion Area Genealogy Society, 1980

The Wurttemberg Emigration Index, by Trudy Schenk and Ruth Froelke Vol I, II, III, IV, V, VI; VII and VIII 1992, published by Ancestry Incorporated, Salt Lake City, Utah

Marion Cemetery, Marion Co., Est, 1857, Edited by Maxine Marshall, Published by The Marion, Area Genealogical Society 1993 Vol I and II

Cemetery Inscriptions of Marion County, Ohio by Paul J. and Barbara Midlam, Published by The Marion Area Genealogy Society. 1985

Hamburg Passenger List -