Searching for Caroline

Caroline (car-oh-LEE-na) Hesse (1863-1914), was a Dakota Territory Pioneer Mother. In 1932, her biography was written and included in the Pioneer Mothers Project. Last week we examined that one-page profile and learned a little bit of her life.

Who was Caroline “Lena” Hesse? Who were her parents? Where was she born?

1870 Census

When I first searched for Caroline’s parentage, I assumed that the man and woman listed directly above her on the 1870 census were her biological parents.¹1870 U.S. Census, Wisconsin, Winnebago County, Village of Neenah, July 5, 1870, page 45, family 347. There are no relationships given and so I really should not have assumed.

• Krull, August (male, 36), Working paper mill, $500 real estate, $100 personal property, born in Mecklenburg, (2 tick marks mean: parents of foreign birth), cannot write
• Louisa Krull (female, 33), Keeping house, born in Mecklenburg, (2 tick marks mean: parents of foreign birth)
• Caroline (female, 6), born in Mecklenburg, (2 tick marks mean: parents of foreign birth) [had not attended school in the last year]
• Mendina (female, 5), born in Wisconsin, (2 tick marks mean: parents of foreign birth)
• August (male, 1), born in Wisconsin, (2 tick marks mean: parents of foreign birth)

This assumption, that August and Louisa Krull were Caroline’s biological parents, was reinforced. They are listed as her parents on her marriage certificate.²Winnebago County WI Marriage Record Book 6, page 154, document 1121. Karolina is an alternate, phonetic spelling of her name.

Why did I suspect a genealogical mistake?

Caroline’s sister Amanda was 13 months younger and born in Wisconsin. That’s not a particularly peculiar, parental-time-line problem.

However, Amanda’s marriage record lists her father as August Krull and her mother as Christine.³FamilySearch database of Wisconsin Marriages. Robert Dillon and Amanda Krull marriage; 1 April 1882 in Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin. Bride’s father is August Krull and bride’s mother is Christine (no surname given).

August Krull’s marriages

Indeed, August Krull was married first to Amanda’s mother. On November 3, 1861 he and Christiana Bauch married at Menasha.⁴Marriage Records of Winnebago County WI, (Oshkosh Area Research Center); Kroll-Bauch marriage, vol. 1, page 14, Nov. 3, 1861.

Most of the 1865 Wisconsin State Census did not survive. So, we cannot use the census as a snapshot of August Krull’s married life.

To date, I have not found a marriage record for August Krull and Louisa Koepke. On the 1870 federal census, they are listed together along with 3 children (see the census above). This census did not ask for relationships, so we assume that August and Louisa are married in 1870.

August Krull dies

The 1880 U.S. census lists Louisa Krull as a widow with five children: Caroline, Amanda, August, Albert and Lucinda.⁵1880 U.S. Census, Wisconsin, Winnebago County, Neenah 2nd Ward, Louisa Krull family #4, SD 4, ED 205, June 1, 1880. Because she is listed as a widow, we assume that August died before the census taker enumerated the family.

There is no will for August Krull, but there is a probate judgement, in 1899. Twenty-four years after his death!

August Krull, the son, brought the matter of his father’s real estate to the Winnebago WI Probate Court on July 24, 1899. In the suit, August C.J. Krull states:

… August Krull…died on or about the sixteenth day of October 1875, at Neenah…intestate and seized of an estate of inheritance in the lands hereinafter described.

The petition proceeds to mention family members:

That said August Krull at his death left your petitioner, August C. J. Krull, now of the City of EauClaire, Wisconsin, and Albert Krull, of the city of Neenah, Wisconsin, his sons, and Amanda Krull, whose name is now Amanda Krull Dillon, who resides at Neenah, Wisconsin, and Lucinda Krull, his daughters, and Louisa Krull, of Neenah, Wisconsin his widow, and only heirs at law.

Only heirs at law

Caroline is not listed in the 1899 probate petition. This is not an oversight.

She is not one of August Krull’s heirs. From this document, we are certain that she is not the biological daughter of August Krull.

Clues

1. Caroline’s Pioneer Mother biography stated that she “was born in Germany and came to the United States with her mother.” Next week, we will look for immigration paperwork.
2. The Pioneer Mother profile mentions neither Caroline’s mother nor her father by name.
3. There are other people named Koepke in Neenah. Maybe there’s a familial relationship.

Next week, we’ll continue searching for Caroline, her parentage and her nativity.

SOURCES

• 1
  1870 U.S. Census, Wisconsin, Winnebago County, Village of Neenah, July 5, 1870, page 45, family 347.
• 2
  Winnebago County WI Marriage Record Book 6, page 154, document 1121.
• 3
  FamilySearch database of Wisconsin Marriages. Robert Dillon and Amanda Krull marriage; 1 April 1882 in Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin. Bride’s father is August Krull and bride’s mother is Christine (no surname given).
• 4
  Marriage Records of Winnebago County WI, (Oshkosh Area Research Center); Kroll-Bauch marriage, vol. 1, page 14, Nov. 3, 1861.
• 5
  1880 U.S. Census, Wisconsin, Winnebago County, Neenah 2nd Ward, Louisa Krull family #4, SD 4, ED 205, June 1, 1880.