Peter Horn    German tree

Frances Celia Don Carlos

Peter Horn was born in June 1842 in Hesse Darmstadt, Germany.¹ There were many wars during his childhood and early adulthood, and although it was speculation that Peter saw service in at least some of the many battles that raged as German unification slowly occurred around him, his obituaries, found in April 2018, have onfirmed this service, if not yet the specific details.

More maps (zooming in to Neider Ramstadt) of Neider Ramstadt, Kreis Darmstadt, Starkenburg Province, Grandduchy of Hessen: Source: North (Neider Ramstadt is at extreme top left of map)  South NorthEast    -- Source: Grandduchy of Hessen Starkenburg Province Kreis Darmstadt Starkenburg Province - Parish Key

Perhaps tiring of the warfare, confusion, and destruction, sometime in late August or early September of 1867, he booked passage to New York from Hamburg on the ship Allemania. Part1 Part2 He was 25 years old and listed his profession as mason (the actual passenger list says "mech"). This Hamburg Passenger list  - and last page - from Ancestry (6 Sept 2011) seems to give great proof that Allemania left Hamburg on or about 24 August, AND that this is almost certainly our Peter. The occupation "Maurer" is translated as brick or trowel, and masonry is the verb - the same as our Peter throughout his life. Age, date of emigration, and occupation all match but we now have a more concrete location of Peter's origin - which fits well with previous information. The Niederarmstadt reference may be the Nieder Ramstadt that Google maps places about 3 miles southeast of Darmstadt in Hesse Darmstadt, Germany. Nieder Ramstadt village around 1907 (1915, 1917, 1953, and today). The below reference to Peter Horn on Smidt is almost certainly a different Peter.

The final nail to confirm this is our Peter comes from a May 2016 addition to Ancestry.com! The Hesse birth lists include our Peter, born in June 1842 to Heinrich (possible birth record - but just as possibly this Heinrich's death record a month later) and Sophia Justina (Reitz) Horn. In Nieder Ramstadt! Her name was not Ritre, it was a poor transcription. Her mother seems to have died in 1832, and this may be her father dying before Anna, when Sophia Justina was just 10 years old in 1824. But because this is Nieder Ramstadt, the ages match closer, and it doesn't mention a spouse (like Sophia's mother's does), THIS 1845 record is more likely Sophia's father's death. Work continues to verify and push this back. Peter's probable brother Georg (clarifying parents names). Peter's mother's 26 March 1904 death information confirms her side of the family, but doesn't tell us about his father - the translation will probably help. This may be a family relation (a cousin? - born a Luckhaupt) who DIED a week earlier.

It is probable that this is a brother of Sophia, therefore an uncle of Peter Horn. And another (older) in 1809, another (younger) in 1817, and a fourth probable Sophia-sibling (younger) born in 1820.

These are the probable children of Peter's father's parents (i.e his uncles and aunts on the Horn side, and all younger than his father Georg Heinrich Horn born in August, 1809): An unamed (but "ehelich" (legitimate) daughter (b. 7 Oct 1810); Probably, despite mother's maiden name here - there was only one other Johann [Adam] Horn having children in the church book at this time, nearly matching Johann and Anna Maria children year-for-year): Johann Jacob Horn (b. 19 Jan 1815); Henrietta Wilhelmina Horn (b. 3 Nov 1817).

Might this be Peter's maternal grandmother's brother and sister-in-law, obviously at the beginning of the book held in the Berlin Central Archives? This 1834 death record likely refers to Peter's paternal grandmother Anna Maria (Neumeister) Horn's death. This 1840 death record for Peter's "37" year old "grandfather" - the "3" in his age is a probable mis-transcription of a "5" has dates which don't allow for an 1809 son Georg Heinrich, so more research is needed here (there are a few more early Horns in the first pages of the book but these are the most likely)... Is this 1827 Johannes Horn death record of relevance?

Georg Heinrich and Sophia Justina Horn's children appear to have included: Georg (b. Aug 1838, died the next year); Peter himself, b. June 1842; Margaret Elisabetha (b. Oct 1844); Adam (b. 1847, died later that same year - this is apparently who our Adam was named for. Tragically, our Adam died too young just as his namesake had); Georg Heinrich (b. May 1851); Maria Juliana (b. Mar 1854); Sophia (b. Aug 1855); and Elisabetha (b. Jan 1859).

This compiled tree pulls the above together.

Peter Horn was born in June 1842 in Hesse Darmstadt, Germany.¹ There were many wars during his childhood and early adulthood, and although no evidence has been found proving it, it is possible that Peter saw service in at least some of the many battles that raged as German unification slowly occurred around him.

On the copy of the ships passenger list on microfilm at the LDS church, the ship is listed as "Str. Allemania" - Probably Steamer Allemania. There is no one listed as having died underway (though not because deaths at sea were a thing of the past by this time - they still did occur, if not as numerous), and no specifics as to travel compartments are listed as they are for other ships bound for America. This could be due to the size of the ship or to the fact that oft-times, the captains would stuff as many people into as small a space as possible to increase his profits. Peter was one of some 340 passengers on his voyage. Two other Horns were also on the ship, but no relationship has yet been established. Catherine Horn, 29, and Rudolf Horn, 11 months. These other Horns do not follow Peter around in later life, and so may be unrelated, or they may have died. E. Meier was master of the 2620-ton ship which pulled into New York harbor on 9 September, 1867.² Peter was most likely processed for immigration at Castle Garden in Manhattan. Castle Garden was established in 1855 by the state of New York. It was hoped that in addition to helping U.S. officials screen out those persons with contagious diseases, a special receiving station would help isolate the new arrivals from the rampant theft, kidnapping, and deceit. Castle Garden continued to be used until 1890 when the state of New York had differences with the federal government over the use of the facilities.³

New information From Family Tree Maker's CD #267, (compiled of source material from National Archives microfilm number M237) states another Peter was from Alsenz in southwest Hesse Darmstaadt. This ship was named Smidt and arrived 18 Sept 1868. Details are found on film #301. It is possible that this is our Peter, instead, but with an occupation of farmer, and the date slightly off of our Peter's birth, it seems stronger to identify the Allemania Peter as ours.

We next find Peter as having moved to the center of Davis county, Iowa, and on the 1st of June 1870, he and his new bride Frances C. Horn are listed in the Bloomfield, Davis co. Iowa census. (the census says they married in October 1869. An inquiry to the clerk of the district court of Bloomfield Iowa for a marriage certificate met with no success, unfortunately.) This LDS website record states they married 23 Sept 1869. He has $1000.00 worth of assets (seemingly average for his area) and lists his profession as plasterer. It is a trade he will practice until his death. Interestingly, in the 1870 census, he has marked the box indicating that though he is a US citizen of 21 yrs and upwards, his right to vote was denied or abridged on grounds other than rebellion or other crime. What could have prevented him from voting? No data on this as of yet. Finally, original images of his first marriage to Frances "Sela" Don Carlos: 1 2 3 4. - SLC Jan 2015

Jacob Augst (possibly Angst) is a plasterer from Switzerland, about Peter's age in this 1880 federal census. It seems quite understandable for these men to grow close, they had much in common. We wonder whether Peter Horn was a witness at Augst's own marriage to Miss Florence A. Carson on 16 May 1876 in Davis county. Per , FHL 0968462 might tell us - sometime in the future.

Peter Horn in Davis County Iowa Civil War militia lists (reportedly from LDS film 008146920): 1875 1875 1875 - 1876 1876 1876 1876 - 1878 1878 1878 - 1879 1879 1879 1879 - 1880 1880 1880 1880 - 1882 1882 1882 1882 - The ages seem off by more than a usual amount, but the dates seem to be bracketed by nearby images on the LDS website "film."

His wife, Frances, was reported to have been born in 1842, but in Illinois. Her father was born in Tennessee, and her mother was of Virginia blood. Interestingly, once Frances' maiden name and family were identified as Don Carlos, early census records (below) were reviewed and it rather appears that she was born about 1838. It is only after her marriage to Peter that she "loses" about 5 years. Errors in census ages are common, but the pattern is clear. Before her marriage she was consistently reported to have been born about 1838 or 1839, after, about 1842 or 1843. The unanswered question, of course, was whether Peter knew this or did Frances Celia Don Carlos lie (there is no easier way to say it) about her age to Peter?

How Peter and Frances met is uncertain. That they cared deeply for each other is not. In Fall or Winter 1870, they had Elizabeth E. Horn, followed in 1872 by Henry A. Horn. On or about March 27, 1874, Bertha C. Horn was born.⁴ Adam Sebastian Horn was born on the 22nd of November 1875. In early June 1880, when the U.S. census taker came around asking his questions, Peter was living on Chestnut St., in Bloomfield. He was by now 39 years old. He was doing fairly well at his plasterer trade, and was ensuring that his eldest daughter Elizabeth went to school to get an education. At least the minimum education that was required. Frances kept the house, as women usually did. In October of 1881, Frances gave birth to a boy, Charles. It was their fifth child and their third boy. A review of LDS film 968461, Davis Co Iowa Marriage Index, on 12 May 2010 shows no Peter Horn or Frances Don Carlos. There are other Don Carlos female marriages, 2 or 3, possibly sisters to Frances.

An indication from the new LDS site that Peter and Francis may have had a child between Adam and Charley on October 13th, 1881 who did not live. Originals from FHL in SLC (Jan 2015 research trip): 1 2 3 4 5 6 source: 1 2

Peter Horn family 1885 Davis County, Iowa state census returns - from Ancestry.com 15 March, 2007

This 1887 marriage record from LDS website states Peter Horn was married after Frances and before Mary! A third marriage. More, this gives Peter's parents! There was another Peter Horn in Davis county Iowa at the time, but he was Peter B Horn, was born in 1851, single in Grove township in 1885, and had a wife named Julia in 1900 and 1910 they married in Jan 1894 in Wapello Iowa (same LDS site), their first. That Peter's father was John Horn, maybe the one who died in 1889. This Eliza C Adams lived only a few census "pages" from our Peter in 1880. We know now where Peter's eldest son got his name. It seems logical that eldest daughter was named after Frances' mother and Peter's eldest son was named after his father. This second marriage to Eliza has revealed all of this. She is not listed among the deaths below nor does she appear with Peter's family in 1895. What happened to Peter's second wife between 1887 and 1895, an un-documented (at least below) death between 1893 and 1895, perhaps?

- Index to Deaths & Records of Death Vol. 1, 1880-1893, Courthouse, Davis County, IA has:

 AND - The Ancestry.com website in Sept '03 had available the 1895 Iowa state census returns for Davis county Iowa. 

Peter Horn was a member of the Methodist church and must have sought solace when Frances died. It is likely, based on age of the children in 1886 and the 1895 census above that none of the children had left the home, and that Peter Horn was still faced with the task of taking care of all of his children alone. Bertha took on the role of the woman of the household until she died on April 13^th, 1897. She had caught a severe attack of the lung fever from which she never fully recovered, according to her obituary which survived the years in a scrapbook. Bertha took on her mother's devotion to God and though seemingly prone to illness, was "thoughtful, patient, and faithful". When the consumption (mid 1800's term for a "wasting of the tissue, tuberculosis, a communicable disease of man and animals, and manifesting itself in lesions of the lung, bone and other parts of the body")⁵ finally set in and she was informed she had only a short time to live, it probably was not much of a surprise to anyone around her.

Bertha's death must have been difficult for all the family to endure, but especially so for Peter. His world was changing quite drastically. A little over two weeks prior, his son Adam S. Horn married a pretty piano teacher nearly a year his senior, Nancy Virginia (Virga) Parks Reeves. The pastor of the M.E. Church, reverend T.B. Hughes, who was also to perform the services for Bertha's funeral in two weeks, married the couple on the 28th of March, 1897. The witnesses were Adam's brother Henry, and Virga's adopted mother Anna Everett Reeves. Adam and Vrigie taken July 1st, 1897.

On the 4th of April, 1898, Peter Married again,, Peter Married again, to a woman 18 years his junior, Mary A. Messer. Originally from Indiana, she had three children from a previous marriage. It must've been awkward at first for Charles, as he was only 11 months older than her oldest girl Maggie. She and her husband George Messer (with children including Frank Messer, aged 6) are identified in Ancestry.com's 1893 and extraction of the 1895 Bloomfield, Davis County, Iowa, state census, indicating that Peter probably met her after her husband died and then they moved to Kansas. Confirmed by Frank's WW1draft registration card.  Frank Frederick Messer (who possibly had his middle name from a probable uncle who lived in Bloomfield in 1895 near Frank's family) became a lawyer and state representative for Iowa. He appears extensively in Ancestry.com's Iowa newspaper collection and died around 1963. One wonders what influence Peter Horn had on the young man who lived in his household from about 9 - 16 years of age, formative years to be sure. Mary was still alive in 1910, and had possibly remarried according to various newspaper snippets.

In the 1900 census, the Peter Horn household of six lived on Friend street in Soldier city, Soldier township, Jackson County, Kansas. - 1900 census index

Adam and Virgia in 1900 census returns

Horn newspaper articles from 1898 to 1913 from Newspapers.com

Letter from Adam to Virgie on August 15th, 1901  A  B   * Envelope

A small article on Adam’s meat cutting speed and a rivalry in a neighboring city

Peter Horn living on Friend Ave in 1903 Soldier Township, Jackson County Kansas Land Plat Book but he is not listed in patrons section

An extremely puzzling reference which backs up an item in Virgie's scrapbook - both state she married her second husband 20 days before Adam's death - Could Social Dynamite reference be to 1903 and not 1904? Tuesday Dec 27th ONLY happened in 1904 though... Find-a-grave incorrectly suggests 1905 death (this actual tombstone - with 1905 date and "not forgotten" at bottom  - is at location #423 of this map - at extreme bottom right) but that doesn't "fix" the issue of Virgie's second marriage and despite the Dec 1905 death date also in Virgie's bible, Peter Horn's June 1905 letter and the newspaper obituaries prove Adam was deceased before this. There is something here which does not add up and which family oral history has not passed down. Was Virgie already divorced and remarried, or worse, bigamous, when Adam died? Was Adam murdered as Virgie's father was?! Is this why Virgie's daughter-in-law Mable Horne called her "evil", "soulless", and "without compassion"?* Did Mable know something we are only realizing? Was it the fact that Virgie apparently did the same thing to George Mayer, leaving him and marrying a third man? Mable, in this case, would have known George and may have been embarassed by the actions of Virgie. It seems apparent that Peter Horn did know that Virgie had remarried when he addressed the envelope to Mrs George Mayer in June 1905. One does wonder at Peter's method of death though, if these latest findings do indicate foul play on Adam. It is easy to wonder if Peter eventually did learn some truth and it was more than he could take. It is troubling to wonder how much of this is mere conjecture and how much might be a re-discovered truth. Certainly the evidence is that Virgie did remarry under strange circumstances.

Thankfully, in mid June 2018, Newspapers.com provided the easy-to-miss clue (among many other news articles on Peter and Adam) that Virgie and Adam S Horn were granted a divorce in October of 1901. She kept his hair for the kids. She likely didn't hate him, she just didn't want to be married to him anymore. Her subsequent remarriage wasn't nefarious and the odds that she had anything to do with his death (always a sketchy idea) now seems even sillier.

Christmas day, a Sunday, of 1904 must have been nice for the family. Snow on the ground. A real White Christmas. It was not to last. On late Tuesday or Early Wednesday, Peter was given the news that Adam had been burned to death in a fire in Moline city early in the wee hours of Tuesday 27 December (The apparent source of this obituary is the local newspapers of the area). Peter came by the first train on the 29th. He was met by Virga's adopted father Mannassa Reeves. On the 19th of June, 1905, we have an indication of Peter's state of mind in a letter to Virginia Horn.⁶  A B envelope (darker and easier to read - part 1 part2)

"Dear Virgie and all.

That dear boys (sic) picture have I received, he looks so good. I take it so often [I] need [to] look at it. give him a kiss for me and poor little clay to [sic]. bless the 2 little boys, maybe I come down some time this summer and I will see you all. so I hope this will find you all well, your well Virgie I am sorry to say, but I can not help it, your left alone, I could not leave [live], with that woman any longer [presumably his new wife Mary, Kansas state census on 1 March 1905 still has both of them listed, so divorce was after this], so I sued for a divorce and I have every thing fixed up in good shape, I have my home, and plenty inside left yet, I have to give her $300.00 and her old stuff she had when she came here, so I leave [live] in peace now, wish [which] I could not befor [sic], I have nobody to look after, as myself,--I can not get over the way Adam have to go, I sent all the money I owed to Moline, long befor Decoration Day [original term for Memorial Day, 30 May or last Monday in May] and $2.00 extra, to take care of Adam s Grave, I wish I was able, to have a tombstone put up to his Grave, but I am not at present (poor boy) take good care of Clay and Harold, and tell them Grandpa Horn like to see them, and maybe he will some Day, this summer,

Tell Your Pa and Mama I am happier since I am left alone, I go down to Kates [likely Peter's daughter, Kate Fryberger: 1 2 3 4 5] House, and when I come home, nobody says a word, every thing is peaceful, I got a good house and plenty of everything left yet. Well I must close for this time by saying my best Love and Wishes to All of you, I am as ever,

Yours in

F.L. and T.

Peter Horn

let me hear from you all soon

P.H."

Still need a copy of the 1905 Jackson County Kansas State census returns for Peter. Should be available via Interlibrary loan from KSHS (if he was in Soldier Township) on reel K-66 Jackson [Circleville, Holton, Netawaka, Whiting & Twps. J-W] - according to http://www.kshs.org/genealogists/census/kansas/census1905ks.htm - pt1 pt2 First day of March, 1905.

Is this our Peter? Peter Horn, bricklayer (Maurer), born in 1842 returning from Germany on a steamship (dampfschiff) who lived in Bloomfield is an extremely close match to our Peter, if we consider that Peter named a previous place of residence (he lived in Kansas in 1907, not Bloomfield) and that he was married when he was, by 1907, divorced...Is this our Peter with some evidence of a difficulty in recalling details? There were no other Peter Horns in either the 1900 or 1910 census records who fit this profile of year of birth and occupation (let alone Bloomfield). It is noteworthy that the embarkation port and shipping company is the same as the 1867 record for our probable Peter at top of page.

The next reference we have to Peter Horn is the 1910 census, which lists him as owning a house on Francis street in Soldier City. A divorced 67 year old man, he lives alone and still earns his living by contracting his services as a plasterer. Average wages for a "stonecutter" in 1910 were about $4.50 a day in some parts of the country, according to a book called Ellis Island, an Illustrated History of the Immigrant Experience. Peter's earnings were probably comparable.

He died on the 26^th of August, 1913, his body found mangled on the Missouri Pacific railroad track at Fort Leavenworth Kansas, over 40 miles to the east of his last known home. The death certificate says an inquest was pending. A remote possibility exists that more information on his death can be found for Peter. Was it suicide, an accident, or was Peter a victim of old age delirium?

Peter Horn's tombstone from Findagrave.com

One gets the impression of Peter Horn as a man who never quite learns to master the English language, though he can read and write according to the census returns, who loves his god and tried to do right by his family with the small amount he was able.

District 87 of  Iowa Ward 1, Johnson County, Iowa 1910 federal census return of [possibly] Peter's temporary stepson, Frank F Messer (where he also lived in 1920)

_{1. 1870, 1880, 1900 census returns.}

_{2. German passenger lists in hardcopy and on the LDS microfilm # 175641}

_{3. "Ellis Island's History is traced" in syndicate from the Los Angeles times on Sunday 10 July, 1994, sent to me by my "Aunt" Mary Arnold.}

_{4. Information on Bertha based roughly on} her obituary _{found in the scrapbook kept by Virginia Parks/Bridges.}

_{5. American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, ISBN 0-395-20360-0.}

Some extra scribble on the Peter Horn passenger list

Actual 1880 census returns for Peter Horn - from this better copy acquired Sept '03, we learn that Peter's mother and father were born in Hesse Darmstaddt, as well, and Frances' father was born in Tenn, and her mother was born in Virginia.

Actual 1900 census returns for Peter Horn Pt1 Pt2 Top (explanation of columns) - Times are probably tough. Mortgage is always due on the house and Peter states he has spent 3 months out of employment. Mary does laundry to help bring funds into the home.

Adam Sebastian Horn soundex for 1900 census

Adam Sebastian Horn 1900 census part 1   Pt 2  Top - New clearer copies from Sept '03 show Virgie's adopted parents living nearby!

Henry Horn in 1920 federal census  pt2

A good map of Elk county Kansas

Elk county in Cutler's 1883 Kansas history

Frances Celia Don Carlos

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