Charles A. F. Ziemer
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CHARLES A. F. ZIEMER, born in Pomerania September 5, 1876, was the son of Martin Gottllieb Ziemer and Caroline Bonow. Charles was about the age of 5 when his family made the harrowing voyage that brought them to America in 1881.  Raised on the South Side of Chicago, Charles worked as an accounting and shipping clerk for the railroad.  He married Louise Bruns at Gethsemane Evangelical Lutheran Church at 49th and Dearborn on September 21, 1901?  They had two sons: Martin Frederick, who became a physician; and Elmer, a dentist. The family lived for many years in the neighborhood on South Shields Avenue near Martin G. and Caroline Ziemer, and many of the Bonow family as well.  Louise ran a local grocery/deli on the first floor of an apartment building where several of the family members also lived.  Around 1954, at the age of 79 years, Charles wrote this narrative of the family history as he knew it: 

The Family Chronicle of Charles A. F. Ziemer relates important information for family research, on the Ziemer as well as Bonow families. Charles refers to Frederick Bonow as Ferdinand, and his grandmother Louise's maiden name is given as Krucko. (Alternate spellings may include Kruecko/Krueckow/Kruecke, with or without an umlaut).

Charles A. F. Ziemer  in his chronicle relates information about the burial places of family members.  His parents and the Frederick Bonows are buried at Oakwoods Cemetery in Chicago, where Charles as oldest brother oversaw placement of the family monument, and lovingly tended the graves each spring for years.  Charles himself, I have been told, was instrumental in the creation of Bethania Cemetery in Justice, Illinois, where he and many other family members rest. Another name associated with Bethania is Priebe.  Charles's chronicle explains his in-law relationship with the Priebe family, and relates other facts about his wife's family:  FRANK and FROH from Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Hammond, Indiana; BRUNS; and PRIEBE of Chicago.

Note: The above-mentioned Frank Ziemer would be the author's paternal grandfather.

CHARLES A. F. ZIEMER was by all accounts a kind, gentle, and generous man, deeply religious, and dedicated to his family. His last home was at 8201 S. Carpenter St., Chicago.  He did much to help the extended family during his lifetime. He died on August 11, 1954 - not long after penning the chronicle which even today helps us to know our family's history.

Grateful acknowledgment is given to Charles O. Ziemer of Burr Ridge, Illinois
for providing much of the information given here,
including the Charles A. F. Ziemer narrative.

 POMERANIAN ROOTS      *      ZIEMERS OF CHICAGO         *         ZIEMER'S TREE

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