Frank and Catherine (Schaefer) Nimsgern

Frank Nimsgern was the son of John Nimsgern and Gertrude Jung (Young). He was born in Solon Mills, Richmond Township, McHenry Co., Illinois On 28 Nov 1899. Frank married Catherine Schaefer, daughter of Michael Schaefer and Katharina Pitzen. Catherine was just five years old when she came with her parents and siblings from Germany to America in 1882. They settled on a 100 acre farm in Johnsburg, McHenry Co., Illinois. Catherine attended St John The Baptist School, but never did speak English even as an adult. I do not know at the present time where Frank attended school. There were several schools in the area where he was born and raised.

After their marriage, Frank and Catherine lived on his parents 165 acre farm in Spring Grove, Burton Township, McHenry Co., Illinois, for about eleven years. Frank ran the farm since his father John had by this time retired. This is where Frank and Catherine's five children Mary, Rosa, Susan, Joseph and Louis were born.

A short time after the death of his father, Frank purchased the 165 acre farm adjacent to that of his father's, about 1911. This farm was originally the William Moore Farm, as shown on the 1862 McHenry County Plat Map. William Moore sold it to his son-in-law L. B. Covell in 1897. Frank purchased the farm from L. B. Covell and Anna Moore Covell. It is said by a family member that Frank was a mechanic/engineer as well as a farmer. After he purchased the William Moore farm in 1911, he had the house which was located at the bottom of a hill, moved up to the top of the hill. He also installed a "ram pump" to pump water from a local spring/creek three quarters of a mile up the hill into a tank which in turn gave the family running water inside the home. He also was to have had his own gas engine to run a generator, to generate power into batteries so as to have electricity inside the home. He owned one of the first automobiles in the Spring Grove area, a Willis Knight.

In 1915 Frank suffered from a severe attack of pneumonia, from which he never fully recovered. Following this he had been severely injured on a threshing machine while helping out on the Freund farm off of Miller and Spring Grove Road. He and Catherine had gone to Bellview/Ocala, Florida in November of 1921 for the winter months, hoping that Frank's health would improve in a warmer climate. They returned home 24 February 1922 and Frank passed away in May of that year, at the age of 48 years. He never had the opportunity to witness the marriages of his five children or welcome into the world his fourteen grandchildren. He was survived by his wife and five children, three brothers, Matthew, Martin and Robert and two sisters, Mary and Susan.

Frank was a member of the McHenry Council, Knights of Columbus, the Mystic Workers' Society of Spring Grove and the Holy Name Society of St Peter's Catholic Church in Spring Grove.

Catherine continued to run the farm with the help of her children until 1929. She then moved to McHenry after purchasing the Mathias Blake home on Green Street. Her daughter Mary and son-in-law Martin Stoffel kept the farm running in Spring Grove, and later Catherine's son Joseph and his wife Pauline Kennebeck also lived on the family farm in Spring Grove. The farm remained in the family until Catherine sold it to William and Grace Jaffe in 1940. Today the land where Frank, and his father, John Nimsgern's farms were located in Spring Grove, is part of Nottingham Woods. Only the barn and silo remain from Frank and Catherine's 165 acres, the present owner's refused to have the barn demolished and have turned it into a beautiful home.

Catherine passed away 8 March 1942 at her home on Green Street in McHenry, McHenry Co., Illinois. She was survived by her five children, fourteen grandchildren, three sisters, Mrs Eleanor (Martin)Jung, Mrs Mary (Mathias) May, and Mrs Josephine (Peter) May, and three brothers, Matthew(Rose Adams) John, and Peter(Martha Mertes). Frank and Catherine are at rest in the Nimsgern family plot at St Peter's Cemetery in Spring Grove, McHenry Co., Illinois

Frank and Catherine are my maternal great-grandparents, their daughter Rosa is my grandmother. Information in Family Group Records was obtained from church records, vital records, family members and obits.

Family Group Records

Frank Nimsgern
Son of John Nimsgern and Gertrude Jung (Young)
Born 27 October 1874/Solon Mills, Illinois
Married Catherine Schaeffer 28 November 1899
St John The Baptist Catholic Church, Johnsburg, McHenry Co., Illinois
Died 11 May 1922/Spring Grove, McHenry Co., Illinois
Buried at St Peter's Catholic Cemetery, Spring Grove, McHenry Co., Illinois
Catherine Schaeffer
Daughter of Michael Schaeffer and Katherina Pitzen
Born 6 January 1877/Siebenbach, Germany
Died 8 March 1942/McHenry, McHenry Co., Illinois
Buried at St Peter's Catholic Cemetery, Spring Grove, McHenry County, Illinois

Children of Frank and Catherine

1.Mary Gertrude
Born 7 September 1900/Spring Grove, McHenry Co., Illinois
Married Martin Stoffel 18 November 1925
St Peter's Catholic Church, Spring Grove, McHenry Co., Illinois
Died 1 August 1990/McHenry, McHenry Co., Illinois
Buried at St Mary's Catholic Cemetery, McHenry, McHenry Co., Illinois

2.Rosa Catherine
Born 25 February 1902/Spring Grove, McHenry Co., Illinois
Married Henry Kennebeck 23 October 1923
St Peter's Catholic Church, Spring Grove, McHenry Co., Illinois
Died 14 August 1983/Woodstock, McHenry Co., Illinois
Buried at St Mary's Catholic Cemetery, McHenry, McHenry Co., Illinois

3.Susan
Born 4 July 1903/Spring Grove, McHenry Co., Illinois
Married Franklin Haines
Died 7 September 1976/Belvidere, Boone Co., Illinois
Buried at St Peter's Catholic Cemetery, Spring Grove, McHenry Co., Illinois

4.Joseph Matthew
Born 9 July 1905/Spring Grove, McHenry Co., Illinois
Married Pauline Josephine Kennebeck 5 November 1931
St Mary's Catholic Church, McHenry, McHenry Co., Illinois
Died 29 Septemebr 1983/McHenry, McHenry Co., Illinois
Buried at St Mary's Catholic Cemetery, McHenry, McHenry Co., Illinois

5.Louis John
Born 21 September 1908/Spring Grove, McHenry Co., Illinois
Married 1. Marion Eva Wegener ( d. 25 February 1946) 9 June 1937
St Mary's Catholic Church, McHenry, McHenry Co., Illinois
Married 2. Ruth Brocken 17 May 1948
Died 6 Aug 1990/Yucaipa, San Bernardino Co., California

Frank and Catherine's Wedding Photo

Additional Family Group Records will be added, please check back for updates ~ [email protected]

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