Pfau The Pfau Family genealogy, beginning with Karl and Grace Pfau and their known son Charles L. and his wife Anna (Vogel) Pfau.  Compiled by Scott Duncan.

Anna (Vogel) Pfau as a young girl in Germany, with her parents and siblings.
Anna is on her mother's right, photo taken in about 1885.

The earliest record I have located, of the Pfau family, is the 1900 Federal Census, of Kalamazoo Township, Kalamazoo City, Kalamazoo County, Michigan, ED# 111, sheet 15A, enumerated on 7 June, by W. Brooks Patterson.  The Pfau household was found at 416 E. Richardson St. (the house looks to be the near the corner of East Richardson and North Porter St.) consisted of:

Pfau, Charles  head m Feb. 1845 55 24 Germany Germany Germany 1884 16 carpenter 12
        Grace     wife  f  Aug. 1848 51 24   6  3  Germany Germany Germany 1884  16
Drury, Florence  granddaughter  f   July  1894   5  Michigan Michigan Germany

If you knew nothing about the 1900 census, those numbers wouldn't mean much at all--however, they did actually give quite a bit of biographical information.  Charles Pfau (his name is recorded as "Karl" on his marker in Riverside Cemetery), a male, was born in February, 1845, he was 55 years old at the time the census was taken.  He also stated that he had been married for 24 years (which makes their date of marriage in about 1876 in Germany), his birthplace was Germany and his parents were both also born in Germany.  Charles immigrated to the United States in the year 1884, he had lived in the U.S. for 16 years, his occupation was a carpenter.  I think he misunderstood the census taker on the last question, Charles stated that he had been unemployed for 12 months (meaning he was one hungry carpenter!).  Grace also gave some very important data:  Grace stated that she was born in August 1848 in Germany, she was 51 years old at the time of the census and that she had given birth to 6 children, 3 of which were still living (she also stated that she immigrated to the U.S. in 1884).  Their granddaughter, Florence was the daughter of William and Mary Louise (Pfau) Drury (see below).

Also located in the 1900 Federal Census of Kalamazoo Township, Kalamazoo City, ED# 110, sheet 12A, enumerated on 1 June, by Frank E. Evans, was the household of their son (the street and address is unreadable, the adjacent street is Porter, and the house looks to be on the corner):

Pfau, Charles  Head  m Aug.  1876 23 Germany Germany Germany  1883 17 laborer 0
        Anna     Wife   f  March 1881 19 Germany Germany Germany  1883 17
       Frank      Son   m  Nov.  1899  6/10   Michigan Germany Germany

One household above Charles and Anna Pfau, at 625 Porter St., was the household of John Vogel and his wife (I cannot read her name).  John may have been Anna's brother, there may have been a language barrier, between the census taker and John, John's personal data as well as his wife's data were shown as unknown, except for his occupation, listed as a foundry laborer (if this was her brother, his given German name was Adolph Vogel, which if translated to English would be John Vogel.  Adolph G. Vogel is buried next to Charles and Anna in Riverside Cemetery in Kalamazoo).  So--Charles (Karl) and Grace Pfau stated that they immigrated in 1884, and the son stated that he immigrated in 1883.  Anna also stated that she immigrated in 1883, however her daughter, Anna, related Anna's journey to the U.S. as follows:

"Anna Vogel emigrated from Germany when she was 14 years old with the Eihlers family.  Anna paid for her passage by assisting Mrs. Eihlers with the care of the Eihlers children, and keeping house.  Anna's family remained in Germany, except for a brother Adolph G. Vogel who was born in 1878 and died in 1948 and is also buried in Riverside Cemetery next to Charles and Anna Pfau."
If Anna immigrated at the age of 14 that would have been in about 1895.  According to their 60th Diamond Wedding Anniversary announcement, Charles and Anna were married on 12 February 1899, in Chicago, Illinois.

Charles and Anna (Vogel) Pfau, and son Frank Pfau, photo taken about 1901.

Ten years later, in the 1910 Federal Census of Kalamazoo, ED# 131, sheet 14A, enumerated on 26 April, address shown as 429 Parson St., the Pfau household had grown quite a bit.  This is one of my favorite images, first because the handwriting is almost perfect and very readable, secondly because it listed my grandmother for the first time after her birth, and lastly because I got a good chuckle when I read Charles' occupation.  Put on your bifocals folks--the image of the 1910 Charles and Anna Pfau household is shown below:

Yes that's right, in 1910, Charles Pfau, listed his occupation as a "bartender" in a "saloon"!  If I could go back in time, I think I would like to walk into that saloon in 1910, order up a beer and have a friendly chat with Grandpa Pfau.  Since the ages may be difficult to read, they were listed as follows:  Charles L., age 32; Anna, age 29; Frank, age 10; Harry, age 7; Theodore age 2; Elsie age 4 months.  The boarder listed in their home was Ida Roman, age 19, single, born in Germany, occupation listed as an "inspector" in a "factory".

Also located in the 1910 Federal Census of Kalamazoo, ED# 131, sheet 19A, date not recorded, address shown as 415 Richardson St., was the household of Charles and Grace Pfau:

Pfau, Charles   Head        m    65    M1    30                Ger-German    none
        Grace     Wife          f     59    M1    30    7    4    Ger-German    none
     Florence     Daughter   f     16    S      16                Michigan    Ger-German    Ger-German    Stenographer    Office

Translation--Charles and Grace stated that they had been married for 30 years, Grace stated that she had given birth to 7 children, 4 of which were still living.  Florence who was listed as a granddaughter, ten years earlier in the 1900 census, was now listed as a daughter, last name recorded as Pfau, and her parents were both born in Germany (in the 1900 census her father was listed as born in Michigan and her mother born in Germany).

The 1920 Federal census offered some great insight and more clues to be researched for the Pfau family.  Grace and her husband, Charles (Karl on his marker), were not living in the same household.  His name was recorded as "Carl, Sr." in 1920.  Carl, Sr., was living in the household of his son, their address was listed as 427 Parsons St. (Charles stated that he was naturalized as a citizen in about 1919, the year is difficult to make out):

Pfau, Charles    head        m    43    1888    1919 Na    Germany    laborer    tablet shop
        Anna       wife          f     38    1895                   Germany    none
        Frank       son          m    20                              Michigan    trimmer   casket shop
        Harry       son          m    16                              Michigan    trimmer   casket shop
     Theodore     son          m    11                              Michigan    none
        Elsie        daughter    f     9                               Michigan    none
     William       son           m     5                              Michigan    none
        Anna        daughter    f      3 5/12                           Michigan    none
        Carl         son           m     1 6/12                            Michigan    none
      Carl Sr.      father        m    74   1880                    Germany    none

Grace Pfau, the mother, was living in the home of her daughter in 1920, at 922 James St., Kalamazoo, ED# 179, sheet 7A:

Fisher, Frank G.    Head   m  44  Michigan   Ohio  Canada  Machinist  Factory
         Louise M.    Wife    f   43  1882   Germany  Germany  Germany  None
Pfau, Grace  Mother in law      f     69  1882  Germany  Germany  Germany  None

Again there were conflicting dates given for their year of immigration.  Charles and his father both stated that they immigrated in 1880, while Grace and Louise stated the year was 1882.  Grace Pfau died that same year in 1920.  Karl Pfau died in 1923 his death notice was published in the Kalamazoo Gazette on Sunday, 30 December 1923:

Karl and Grace are both buried in the Old Catholic Section of Riverside Cemetery.  Buried next to Karl and Grace are Mary Pfau, a daughter who died on 15 August 1887 in Kalamazoo of diphtheria, age 4 years, born Michigan, her parents were listed as "Chas. and Mary Pfau" of Kalamazoo (Kalamazoo County Deaths, Book 2, page 23, #148) and Joseph Pfau, a son.


The known children of Karl and Grace Pfau were:


1. Charles L. Pfau, was born in August 1876 in Germany and died in 1959.  Charles married Anna Vogel and lived the remainder of his life in Kalamazoo (their children and biographical information is linked from his name).


2. Mary Louise Pfau, was born in August 1876 in Germany and died in California in 1960.  Although I haven't located a record of her first marriage, she did have a daughter by her first husband, William Drury.  Louise married (2nd) Frank E. Fisher in about 1900.  Frank was the son of Merwin and Elizabeth Fisher, he was born in about 1877 (he stated that his birth was in August 1875 in the 1900 census) and was living in the home of his parents in the 1880 census of Kalamazoo.  His father, Merwin Fisher, listed his occupation as a "Waggon maker" in the 1880 census.  Frank and Louise were living in Kalamazoo in the 1900 Federal Census, ED# 110, sheet 4A (Louise stated that she had not given birth to any children):

#126    Fisher, Frank E. Head  m  24  Aug  1875  Michigan Machinist
                 Louise    Wife       f   23  Aug  1876  Germany  year of immigration 1884

In the 1910 Federal Census of Kalamazoo City, Kalamazoo County, Michigan, ED# 152, sheet 15A, address James St., house and household numbers were unreadable, their household listed (Francis and Louisa both stated that they had been married for 10 years; Louisa stated that she had given birth to 1 living child and that this was her second marriage; the birthplace of Francis' parents was blank):

Fisher, Francis    Head       38    Michigan                 Machinist    Boiler Work
           Louisa    Wife        32   Ger German  Ger German  Ger German  none
Drury, Florence  Daughter   15    Michigan      Michigan  Ger German  Stenographer  Office

Florence was actually enumerated twice in the 1910 census, she was also listed in the household of her grandparents (see above).

Their household in the 1920 census is listed above.  After the death of her mother, Louise and Frank moved west to California.  I was able to locate them in the 1930 Federal Census of Long Beach, Los Angeles County, California, ED# 1149, sheet 4B, address listed as 3550 Falcon Avenue (Frank stated that he was age 18 at the time of his marriage; Louise stated that she was 17):

#103 102  Fisher, Frank E.  Head  m 53  Michigan Ohio Canada-English Machinist Garage
                       Louise M.   Wife   f  52  Michigan  Germany  Germany    None
Florence D. Daughter f  35  Michigan   Michigan   Michigan  Stenographer  Census Office

Frank Fisher is listed in the California Death Index, date and place of birth listed as 18 July 1876 in Michigan, date and place of death listed as 26 November 1953 in Los Angeles.  Mary L. Fisher is also listed in the California Death Index date of death listed as 26 September 1960 in Los Angeles, place of birth listed as Germany.

Mary Louise Pfau had one daughter, by her (1st) marriage to William Drury:

2.1 Florence M. Drury Weaver, was born on 8 July 1894 in Kalamazoo, Michigan.  Florence did marry (unknown) Weaver, she later lived with her father, known as "Pa" Drury on Highland Avenue, before his death in February 1965 (obituary).  William did remarry and fathered two sons, Glenn and Harry Drury.  Florence died on 23 March 1972 in Kalamazoo:


3. Joseph E. Pfau, was born in 1880 in Germany.  Joseph Pfau died in a tragic railroad accident on 28 January 1907.  His death record from Kalamazoo County stated that his mother's maiden name was "Grace Ehrmann".


4. Mary Pfau, born in 1883 (her death record from the Kalamazoo County Clerk stated that she was born in Michigan) and died on 15 August 1887, at the age of 4 years.


This web page is authored by Scott Duncan.  All information listed without a reference should be verified.  Any additions, questions, or comments should be sent to:

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